Paradox Side Story
by YGP
Summary: It's a few days before Hope's and Lightning's wedding and their friends have something very special planned for them. During that time, the two get a chance to reminiscence on their lives and look to their future ahead. Following the 'Paradox' timeline.
1. Let The Party Begin

_**Author Notes:** Hi everyone! Thank you for taking a look at my new story! I was hoping to update this sooner after Paradox was over, but I was unable to update for a while. For those who have read Paradox, this little story takes place before Hope and Lightning get married, before what happened in chapter 16 of Paradox. For those who haven't read Paradox, no need to read it. This story could be read without having to read the main story. I was hoping to make this all one chapter but I wrote so much that it will have to be spread over several chapters. _

_Hope that you'll like the new story!  
_

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_Chapter 1: Let The Party Begin:_

The sound of childish laughter filled the air as the sun was beginning to set over the city. Playfully the two year old closed her eyes as she couldn't stop giggling. Her body was swinging back and forth as her arms were being held up by two adult arms; one belonging to her mother and the other to her father. The two parents smiled, watching her have so much fun as they were walking along the streets of their suburban neighborhood.

"And up!" replied a silver haired man. With one last, strong swing, her mother let go of her arm. Her father held onto her and caught her free arm with his other hand. He lifted the small girl up toward his chest. She leaned against his shoulder as she continued laughing. Beside them the pink haired woman's lips curved up more as she watched them both. The silver haired man turned his attention to the woman beside him curious. "I wonder if it was a good idea letting her swing like that. She just came back from the doctor's."

His companion stepped over toward him and placed her fingers on the child's arm where there was a bandage. She wasn't worried. "I'm sure it's fine. She just got a shot that all children get. I'm sure that it won't make her arm fall off. Don't worry so much Hope."

Hope let out a smile grin. It comforted him to hear her say that. "If you say so Light."

Another smile appeared on Lightning's lips as her eyes met with that of the little girl's. She could feel as her small fingers grabbed onto her index finger. "I'm surprised that Faith didn't cry as much, but then again, you helped her get through it better than I did."

Hope's lips curved into a smile. It wasn't so hard to get Faith through the appointment. "I just made her laugh and took her attention away. I guess it worked… most of the time."

Lightning gave a small sigh of relief. "It wasn't so bad."

Faith leaned her body over and reached more toward Lightning. She started to loosen herself from Hope's arms. He became nervous hoping that she wouldn't fall completely out of his arms. "Hold on Faith."

Lightning took her from his hands. She let Faith lean against her shoulder. Once she started to calm down more from earlier, her eyes lowered tired. Lightning could feel Faith relaxing against her. "Someone's getting tired."

Hope gave a tired smile himself. "It's been a long day. I'm starting to get tired myself. Coming from the Academy straight to Faith's doctor's appointment; all I want to do is relax for the rest of the night."

"Same here," Lightning agreed. "Hopefully it will be a quiet one with this one asleep."

A thought crossed his mind which made him happy. "It won't be long. We're only a few days away." Lightning turned her attention to him. She had an idea of what he was referring to. Hope continued. "You and I will have our wedding ceremony."

"Oh. Right."

He became curious. "Are you a little excited?"

Lightning looked ahead. "I'll be glad when it's over. All this planning and stuff is wearing me out."

Hope's eyes traveled toward the ground as he began to wonder. "So… is a part of you happy that this will be happening?" he asked somewhat nervous about what her answer would be.

Lightning's eyes met with his. "Well… I think that it would be good for Faith to have a stable family." It wasn't the answer that he was expecting. It made him somewhat disappointed if that was the only reason. She noticed his look. With one hand, she held up a tired Faith against her and with the other hand reached over and grabbed his hand. When his eyes turned to her, she gave a small smile. "And I think that it would be good for both of us as well. Why else do you think I would have told you yes?"

In return Hope smiled at her response. He figured that was her way of saying that she still wanted to. "It's not too late to get out of it."

Lightning's eyes traveled forward. "Too much work. Everything is already paid for and we do have a child with us. Too late to take any of those back."

Hope grinned. "It's just going to be harder to get out of later."

Lightning's lips curved into a smirk toward him. "Then you better make this worth it."

Hope nodded. "I'll try." Her smirk changed into a gentle smile. More she intertwined her hands with his. Along with him, she was glad that things were working out between them.

A few minutes later they finally reached home. They opened the door and walked in through the kitchen. "Finally." Lightning started to unwind more now that they had made it. "Now we can relax the rest of the night."

"You said it," Hope agreed, glad that they were back.

"Surprise!" All of a sudden familiar faces popped out of their hiding places with big grins.

Hope's and Lightning's eyes lifted up in surprise. They stopped in place. Hearing the noise, Faith started to wake up as her face scrunched. Lightning noticed and frowned at the uninvited guests. "Good going. She just fell asleep."

The happy smiles around the living room soon turned into nervous ones. "Sorry," Serah replied as she was the one standing out in front of Snow, Vanille, Fang, and Sazh.

Lightning's eyes followed as Serah approached her. "What are all of you doing in our house? I only gave you a key."

Serah looked over toward the others. "I know. I let them in."

"Why?" Lightning asked.

Fang leaned back against the couch as she smirked. "Because this is both of your parties."

Hope looked surprised as Lightning shook her head and frowned. "No. No parties."

Vanille let out a moan. Fang continued. "Oh come on! You both have to have some kind of celebration before you get tied down to each other. The boys will do their thing and the girls will stay with you."

Nervously Hope smiled. "Can we maybe have the party at another time?"

"Or never?" Lightning added.

"This is your last night of freedom. You better take it now or you'll never get another chance," Fang replied.

Snow walked passed Hope and Lightning and went into their fridge. "Come on you two. One night won't kill you."

Lightning frowned at him especially since he was going through their fridge without asking. "It might kill you if you eat everything out of my fridge." She turned her attention back to the others. "Look. You guys can have a party somewhere else, but if you haven't noticed, we have one person that can't exactly go to a party." Her eyes glanced at Faith who was resting peacefully again with her eyes closed.

Fang shrugged. "We took care of that."

Lightning became curious. "What? You brought us a babysitter instead of entertainment?"

Serah smiled. "We put it to a vote or really we had a contest of whether the girls would stay here and the boys would go out or if the girls would go out and the boys stay in."

Lightning arched her eyebrow. "Oh really? So which one of us is the lucky one who gets to look after Faith tonight?"

Fang pointed toward Faith. "Who's the one holding the baby right now?"

It didn't take long to figure out the answer. "Lucky me," Lightning breathed out.

Nervously Serah smiled. "Sorry Lightning. We tried to win against the boys."

Vanille grinned. "So the girls get to stay in while the boys go out!"

Hope held up his hands. "It's all right. Light can go out if she wants and I'll stay here with Faith."

Snow grabbed onto Hope's shoulder as he displayed a grin. "Oh no! We won the right to go fair and square so you're coming with us."

Sazh leaned his arm against the top of the couch. "Might as well. Last night of freedom from the misses."

Hope turned his eyes to Lightning which she noticed. She knew how tired he was and that he was silently asking for her help. Lightning let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. "He can't go. He can stay here and look after Faith."

Snow smiled. "Oh come on sis! Let the man be free on his last night!"

Lightning shrugged toward Hope. "Well I tried. I'm not fighting you being dragged out of the house." Hope wanted to drop his head, but kept it up. He had nothing against hanging out with the guys, but he felt tired from working all day and just getting home. He expected a quiet night with just Lightning and Faith. Lightning looked at everyone. "Can you at least give us a few hours to make sure that she stays asleep before this happens?"

Sazh and Fang stood up from the couch while Vanille got up off the floor. Serah looked toward everyone. "I guess we can eat dinner before we come back." Agreeing to the plan, everyone walked out of the front door.

Hope and Lightning watched as they left. "So much for a quiet night."

Hope let out a sigh. "I'm probably going to have to take a few hours to sleep before they take me out." Soon after they turned and headed upstairs.

After a few hours had passed, Hope stepped out of the bathroom of their bedroom dressed in a casual shirt and pants after his shower. His eyes met with Lightning's who was sitting on their bed with Faith. In her hand, she had a small spoon with a small glass jar. Her eyes traveled down to Faith who was sitting in front of her. With the last bit of food from the spoon gone, she took it away from Faith. Hope walked over and lied down with his back against the bed. He placed his arms behind his head relaxing. He turned his head toward Faith and Lightning. Curiously, Faith went over to him and grabbed his hand. "Well she's done for tonight. I'm going to put her to sleep soon." She placed the jar and spoon on the dresser near their bed. Lightning paused a moment before she spoke. "Did you manage to get any sleep?"

"A little." Hope picked up Faith and held her up over him in the air. She placed her fingers into her mouth as she stared down at him. "Probably not as much as this one right here."

"Say good night." Afterwards Lightning took her from his hands and placed her under the blankets of their bed.

Hope looked a little surprised. "You're letting her sleep here tonight?"

Lightning reached over and adjusted the blankets for Faith to be comfortable. Faith stared up at her curious. "I don't know how tonight is going to go, but I want to keep a close eye. Her room might end up as someone's guest room for all we know."

Hope understood her reason for doing so. "Good idea." After a few minutes they watched in silence as Faith fell asleep. "That was almost too easy."

Lightning stood up from the bed. "Now that she's getting older, it's getting easier to make her sleep." Hope sat up and grabbed her hand. Lightning looked down at him. "Try not to get into too much trouble tonight."

He let out a small smile as he pulled her toward him. She sat down beside him. "I won't. I was actually looking forward to spending time with you here."

"You'll have plenty time to do that."

There was a happy look on his face. "Ah! So you do see this working out."

She let out a small smile. "Those weren't my exact words, but maybe." Hope leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. The two spent a few minutes with each other. When they parted, he leaned over her. She leaned back with her back pressed against the mattress of their bed. His lips once again met with hers. Things started to grow more passionate between them. His lips moved down to her jaw line along the side of her neck. While they were separated, Lightning turned her head and looked over to the other end. "Hope?"

He lifted his head curious. "Yes?"

She turned her eyes to him. "There is still someone else in the room."

His lips curved into a smile. "Then I guess that you'll have to stay quiet then."

Lightning let out a smirk. "I should be the one saying that to you."

An idea crossed his mind. Hope gave her a quick kiss. "I'll just put her in her room for a little while, but we'll still let her sleep here." He kissed her again. After spending time with her lips, he moved further down toward her collarbone. His fingers peeled back some of her shirt off of her shoulder. She breathed out as she closed her eyes. More they started to get into the moment.

"Hey! Hope! Sis! You guys ready yet?!" Once they heard the familiar voice of Snow yelling through their door, they stopped.

Hope let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. Lightning sighed as well as she rolled her eyes. She placed her hand to Hope's chest gently pushing him away from her. "When you guys go out tonight, make sure that you leave Snow somewhere that he can't find his way back here."

More they heard loud knocking at the door. "Guys! You in here?!"

Both Hope and Lightning looked over to see Faith's face beginning to scrunch up. Lightning stood up and went to the door. She swung it open with an angry look on her face. "Stop making so much noise! You're going to wake her!" she hissed loudly.

Snow rubbed the back of his neck uneasy. "Sorry. I didn't know you had her in there."

Lightning looked serious. "We'll be out in a minute now go." Snow listened and went back downstairs. Lightning closed the door to the room. When she turned around, she saw Hope sitting near Faith making sure that she didn't wake up anymore. Lightning stepped over to him. "Is she still asleep?"

Hope's eyes traveled over to her. "Yeah. It didn't wake her that much."

"Let's go before Snow decides to make more noise." Listening, Hope stood up. Lightning twisted the knob on the baby monitor to cut it on so that she could hear Faith from downstairs.

Both of them stepped out of the room quietly. From the hallway, they could hear the others talking and laughing amongst themselves downstairs. Lightning leaned against the wall across from their room with her arms crossed. Hope smiled as he stood in front of her. "You'll have fun tonight. You'll see."

Lightning pressed her hands to his chest and straightened out his shirt somewhat. "Just make sure that you don't get carried home tonight."

Hope laughed a little. "You don't have to worry about that."

A small smirk displayed across her lips. She leaned in and kissed his lips. Her hand grabbed onto the top of his shirt pulling him in closer. He began to relax more against her. His arms wrapped around her waist. The kiss began to get intense. Teasing him a bit, her leg began to rub against his inner thigh. A smirk appeared on his lips mirroring hers. Her teasing was starting to get to him. His hand rubbed against the side of her neck underneath the pink strands of her hair. Afterwards she pulled away from him as she looked up into his eyes. He was about to lean in again, but then heard a voice nearby.

"Hey!" Both of them looked over to see Snow step toward them from the stairs. "We don't want to wait too late to go."

"He's all yours," Lightning replied.

Snow smiled and left. When she turned her attention back to Hope, she saw that he was smiling. There was suspicion that shone in his eyes. "You pulled away just in time."

She crossed her arms. "I could hear him coming up the stairs."

Curious, a faint smirk appeared on his lips. "If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were giving me a signal to stay."

A smirk came across her lips. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"We could ask for a few more minutes." Hope leaned in, but she slipped out from under him.

"That wouldn't be enough time." Lightning started heading downstairs and Hope followed behind.

Once the others saw them downstairs, they smiled. "Hey!" they all greeted them.

Lightning and Hope went to where Sazh and Snow were standing. Lightning placed her hand on her hip mainly giving a stern stare at Snow. "I want him back in one piece and alive just as he is now."

Snow grinned. He placed his hand on Hope's shoulder. "Don't worry sis! We'll get him back home fine."

"Yeah. You won't have anything to worry about," Sazh added to assure her. Then Snow and Sazh turned as they started walking away.

Hope turned to Lightning and smiled. "I'll be back later. Have fun."

"Okay." Lightning leaned in along with him and kissed him. In the background they could hear the sound of the girls awing over them. Lightning turned her attention to them as she frowned. "Cut it out." When she looked over, she saw Hope smiling toward her, but also further passed him Snow grabbing something from their fridge again. She sighed, letting it go for now and watched as the men left. Afterwards she went into the living room and sat on the floor at one end of the table along with the others that were left. Serah was sitting close to her on one side of the table while Vanille was sitting on the other side from Serah. Fang sat across from Lightning. Lightning leaned her arm against the table. "So? What do you have planned?"

Everyone let out a smile. Fang placed a glass in front of her and poured her drink. She gave one to Lightning and Vanille as well. Lightning looked down at the glass. "No way."

Fang smirked. "Oh come on. This is supposed to be your party."

"I still have a child to look out for," Lightning reminded her.

Serah smiled at her. "Don't worry. If Faith needs anything, then I'll check on her."

Lightning turned to Serah surprised that she would volunteer. "You're not having anything?"

Serah shook her head. "I'll pass. Besides it's your night tonight. We want you to have fun."

Lightning wasn't sure, but then picked up her glass and took a sip of her drink. The taste was a little strong. She placed her glass back down. "Don't worry. I won't have much. I'll probably need to wake up early in the morning anyway."

Vanille smiled as she looked interested. She leaned forward on the table. "So what is it like having a baby?"

Serah was interested as she smiled as well. "I was curious about that too."

Lightning took a small sip from her glass and then let out a sigh. "It's not easy I'll tell you that much."

Serah wondered more what she meant. "How so?"

"For one you don't get much sleep." Lightning leaned her head on her hand as she thought back. "I barely got any. She would sleep for a few hours, but then it was right back to being awake again. I would have to sleep on her schedule. I thought I could use to it, but soon it starts catching up with you. It had gotten bad to the point that I got worried about how much it was affecting Hope's sleep. He would go to work really exhausted. I thought he might pass out at his desk, but he told me that he hasn't. Now it's gotten a lot better."

Serah smiled. "It must've helped with Hope being here." It sounded like it was hard work, but at least she had someone to help her get through it. She was glad that Lightning wasn't alone.

Lightning's eyes traveled toward the table. "Yeah. It did." A faint smile came to her lips as she thought back. "He's helped me out a lot. He has this way of making Faith smile when I can't seem to get her to. He really has… looked out for us." When she lifted her head, she saw the others smiling at her. For a moment she was lost in her thoughts and forgot where she was. The smile from her lips disappeared. She closed her eyes as she sighed. The tips of her fingers had touched her glass. "I already had too much."

Vanille grinned. "That was really sweet what you said."

Serah smiled at Lightning. "Awe! You must really care about him."

Lightning frowned, thinking that things were getting too mushy. "Is this night over with yet?"

Fang held up her glass a little off of the table. "No shame in saying that you love the guy. Why else are you marrying him?"

Lightning took a sip from her glass. "I have my reasons. Most of them against my will."

Serah laughed at her sarcasm. "Oh come on Lightning."

Fang placed her glass against the table. "Come on! Enough of the mushy stuff. I thought this was supposed to be a party! We'll loosen her up in no time."

Lightning gave a glare toward Fang. "If any of you put any kind of hat on me then this party is over."

Inside of a bar in Academia, three friends held up their glasses and clinked them together. Snow let out a grin. "Here's to Hope soon to be called brother in law." Hope sat in between Sazh and Snow and all three began drinking at the same. Snow leaned against the round, medium sized table. "I was surprised when sis and Serah told me that you two were getting married."

Hope closed his eyes as he breathed out. "It wasn't easy getting Light to say yes. It took some work."

Sazh looked over at Snow as he smiled. "So what surprised you more? When he told you that he was having a kid or these two were getting married?"

Snow's eyes traveled to Sazh thinking. "Hmm…I don't know… Hadn't really imagined sis with a kid or getting married. Back when we were in Bodhum before this whole crazy adventure started, I hadn't really seen her interact with guys that much. She was so busy taking care of Serah that I thought she wouldn't stop watching her." He let out a grin toward Hope. "But I guess now Light has someone else to watch over every second."

Hope smiled a little. "Faith can be a bit of a handful sometimes."

Sazh smiled at Hope. "I think the big guy was talking about you." Then both Sazh and Snow let out a laugh.

Hope's eyes traveled between the two of them surprised. "Me? Why would she need to look after me every second?"

Snow smirked at him. "So you don't get out of line. You see once you get married some things are going to change. Just when you think you've seen it all, you'll see sides of her you've never seen before."

Sazh held up his glass, getting ready to drink. "Start making you do more things around the house, asking questions you're not sure how to answer and having to be careful about answering them. Not only that, but you have two women in the house. You're outnumbered my friend."

Hope smiled at them, but behind it was a little nervousness. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Snow held up his glass with a smirk. "You may think that now, but just wait until that little girl of yours grows up. Soon you'll be beating off guys with a stick that even look at her." Hope let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. It concerned him a little because that part of his life and hers would come. He knew it would be something he would have to go through and it would be there before he knew it. Snow's lips curved into a smile as he looked up thinking. "Still I can't wait until me and Serah have a kid. I'm ready to get my family started." His eyes traveled over to Hope. "And then they'll have a cousin to play with. See our family is already growing a lot."

Hope let out a smile. "Yeah."

"Hey!" they heard a voice from nearby. The three looked over seeing the familiar face heading over toward them. Hope was surprised by who he saw. He didn't expect him to show up to the party. "Noel?"

Noel took a seat at the table. Snow smiled. "Hey! I was wondering if you would make it!"

Noel smiled toward the others. "And miss this? When I heard that Lightning was getting married, I had to see if it was true for myself."

Hope smiled. "Well it's true."

Noel crossed his arms as he seemed interested. "How did you pull that off?"

"Luck," Hope answered as he breathed out.

Snow leaned his arm against Hope's shoulder. "The kid might have helped a little."

Noel looked surprised as he remembered. "Oh right! I haven't seen them yet. Is it a girl or boy?"

Hope pulled out his wallet and opened it to where it showed a picture of Faith smiling inside. "A little girl. Her name is Faith."

Noel took the wallet from his hand. "She's cute. She has to look more like her mother than you."

Hope grew suspicious. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Noel let out a smirk as he put his finger to his chin. "I don't know. It's just hard to believe that you have a cute daughter." A frown crossed over Hope's lips. Everyone could see his discontent. They were starting to get a little concerned. Noel smiled as he handed him back his wallet. "I was just kidding! Wow! I didn't think you would take it so serious."

Snow gave a nervous smile. "Careful. I wouldn't mess with Hope. If he drinks enough, then who knows what will happen. He might be fighting man." He rubbed the back of his head remembering something that he wasn't supposed to forget. "And since I'm responsible for him, anything that happens to him I'm sure that Light will make good on her word and take her anger out on me."

A smirk crossed over Hope's lips. "Its fine you guys. I can take a joke you know."

Noel would take his word for it. "All right! All right."

Hope smiled toward him. "I was surprised that you were able to make it. I thought you went traveling for a while trying to figure out what happened to Caius and Yeul. Did you find any answers?"

Noel's eyes drifted toward the table. "Not yet, but I'm hoping to."

Snow smiled a little for comfort. "Good luck with your search."

Sazh gave a smile of comfort as well. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Yeah," Hope agreed.

There was a look of sympathy in Sazh's eyes. "That has to be hard."

Noel smiled hopeful. "It's okay. I'll find something soon. Anyway so what have you guys been talking about before I got here?"

Snow placed his hand on Hope's shoulder. "We were teaching Hope here how to survive marriage."

Sazh smiled as he looked over. "He's still got a lot to learn." He looked over at Noel. "Might as well grab a drink. This might take a while." Everyone let out a small laugh.

* * *

Inside of Lightning's living room, Serah looked interested at Lightning as she smiled. "So what was it like having Faith?"

Lightning reached down and took another sip of her drink remembering things clearly. "It hurt… a lot." She placed her glass down on the table. "I guess in a way too bad Snow wasn't there."

Serah was surprised that she wanted Snow there. "Really? How come?"

"Because I wouldn't had to take out all of my frustrations on Hope. I thought I was going to break his hand."

Nervously Serah smiled. "I'm guessing with Snow it would have been easy to take out your frustrations?"

"A few hits might have helped me get through it more than the painkillers." Then Lightning looked over as she slightly arched her eyebrow. She was starting to get a little suspicious. "Why are you asking me so much about this?"

Serah smiled as she felt on edge. "Umm…?"

Lightning grew more suspicious since she could tell Serah was holding back on her. "You've been asking me questions like this all night."

Before they could continue, Fang and Vanille walked back into the room with more glasses. Fang smirked at the two. "Don't tell me that you two are still talking about the same thing? Change the subject already!" She sat down on the same spot on the floor in front of the table. "I know! We'll start talking about the craziest things either of us has done starting with the bride to be."

"I'll pass," Lightning said. She didn't want to be in the center of what Fang was planning.

Fang wasn't going to let her get away that easily. "Oh come on! You got have to tell us something and it won't leave this room."

"No thanks," Lightning replied.

Vanille grinned as she sat down. "Oh come on! It'll be fun!"

Fang leaned her arm against the table as the first question came to mind she wanted to ask. "How about the craziest place you've ever gotten busy?" A smirk came across her lips. "If you know what I mean?"

Lightning crossed her arms as she frowned. Things were already getting inappropriate, but it didn't surprise her. "I'm still not answering that. There's nothing to tell."

Fang leaned more against the table pointing her index finger between Lightning and Serah. "I know one of you must have a story. She's married and you got a kid so neither one of you can get away with the virgin excuse. That already told on you." Lightning sighed with her eyes closed. She could tell that Fang still wasn't letting the question go. "Still not loose enough yet?" Fang asked.

Lightning frowned. "I told you I'm not drinking that much."

"All right how about this? How did you end up with the little one?" Fang thought it would be easier for her to answer.

Lightning crossed her arms as she gave a dull stare. "I think you already know how that happens."

Fang smirked. "You know what I mean. Where did that happen?"

Vanille grinned as she became excited. "Anything said won't leave this table. We promise!"

Lightning sighed. She didn't know why she was thinking about humoring them, but maybe it would be less aggravating than them trying to drag it out of her all night. Her eyes drifted to the side. "Fine. It was in his office. Happy now?" she spoke quickly. Right after she took another sip from her glass.

"Ooh!" Vanille replied.

Fang leaned her head on her hand as she smirked. "Couldn't wait until you got home huh?" Lightning wouldn't look over at her. Fang's eyes traveled over to Serah. "All right! Your turn unless…" Fang returned her eyes over to where Lightning was. "…you want to tell us some more places..." she tried to persuade her.

Lightning scoffed as she rolled her eyes. She regretted answering the first time. Suddenly they heard a cry. Curious, they looked over toward the device on the dresser. It was easy to recognize the sound. Lightning stood up from the table. "I'll be back. You guys continue."

Serah smiled nervously hoping that the others wouldn't ask her the same question yet. "We'll just wait until you come back. After all, this is your party."

Fang stood up. "Fine. We'll wait." She was starting to get a little uncomfortable sitting on the floor. Afterwards she lied down on the couch with her hands behind her head.

Lightning walked passed her heading toward the stairs. Before she left, an idea crossed her mind. She looked back at Fang. "Since you want to know another place so bad, you're lying on it." Instantly Fang jumped and sat up on the couch. Even a smirk had to come to Lightning's lips because of the reaction.

She headed upstairs where her bedroom was. By her dresser she turned on a lamp letting a light shine on the bed. Her expression softened as she reached over. "What's wrong Faith?"

"Mommy!" Faith wrapped her little arms as much as she could around Lightning's waist. She buried her tear stained face into her shirt as she continued to let water flow from her eyes. Her cheeks were puffed with red as she closed her eyes tight.

Gently Lightning stroked her short pink hair. "Were you scared of the dark or had a bad dream?" Faith continued holding on as tight as she could. She didn't want to let Lightning go. A comforting smile came on Lightning's face. "Here." She lifted Faith from off of her and had her stand to her feet. She used her thumbs to wipe away the tears. "No more crying all right?" Faith opened her eyes calming down more. She was starting to feel better since Lightning was there. "Let's put you back to sleep." The two lied down beside each other on the bed. Faith clutched onto Lightning's shirt with her fingers. In return Lightning gave a gentle smile. She wasn't sure why Faith was afraid, but she wanted to help her not to be. "I'm not going anywhere." Faith leaned her head against Lightning's chest with her eyes closed. Softly she stroked through Faith's hair for comfort. "I'll stay here until you fall asleep."

Faith lifted her head, opening her green eyes. There was a curious stare, but behind it was still her sadness. "Daddy?"

In response Lightning's lips curved into a smile as she cupped Faith's cheek. "You'll see him when you awake up all right, but first you have to go to sleep." Listening, Faith closed her eyes and cuddled up next to her mother. Lightning leaned head against her hand. She breathed out with a hint of amusing. "What has your dad gotten me into?" Her eyes traveled over to the side. "I wouldn't be here doing this right now if it wasn't for him." Her eyes traveled down as the tips of her fingers stroke against Faith's pink hair again. "I guess I had something to do with this too. Still if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have you so I guess it's not so bad." She lied down more next to Faith with her head against the pillow. She wrapped her arm around Faith and leaned her head against Faith's. Her eyes lowered to a close. "Just sleep. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I'll always be there to watch after you." Minutes later Faith fell back asleep peacefully. Along with her, Lightning fell asleep as well without realizing she had done so.

* * *

_To be continued... Thanks for reading! As always let me know what you think and I'll be back to update soon! _


	2. Let The Party Continue

_**Author's Notes:** Thank you to everyone who has sent in reviews and added this to your favorites and alerts! _

_**Warning:** There is a lemon in this chapter just in case anyone wants to skip over it. I'll block it off between the third and fourth line toward the end of the page._

* * *

_Chapter 2: Let The Party Continue:_

"Oh mommy…?"

Slowly, Lightning began to wake once she heard the familiar voice. It sounded like Fang's. Soon she could hear Serah and Vanille joining in, calling her 'mommy', and trying to hold back their laughter.

Once Lightning woke up fully, she realized that she had fallen asleep. Quietly she left from her bed so that Faith wouldn't wake and left from the room. She headed back downstairs. As soon as the others saw her, they started to laugh. Lightning crossed her arms as she frowned. "What?"

Vanille grinned with her hands behind her back. "Awe! That was so sweet what you said to Faith!"

Lightning looked surprised. She had forgotten that the monitor was still on downstairs so they could have heard everything that she was saying. Fang walked over and poked Lightning's chest as she smirked. "Well look who has developed a soft spot."

Lightning frowned and knocked her finger away. She sat back to where she was before. Serah sat back beside her. "It's okay. It was really cute."

Lightning looked upset. "Who told you guys to eavesdrop on my conversation?"

Fang and Vanille sat down to where they were before. Fang grinned as she leaned her head on her hand. "Well you put it out there for us to hear _mommy_."

Lightning became more annoyed once she remembered what woke her up in the first place. "None of you guys are to call me that."

Fang's eyes traveled between Vanille and Serah. "Wow! We tell her she's going soft once and she loses it."

Serah looked over to Lightning concerned. "Was everything all right? After a while, we didn't hear anything."

Lightning relaxed as she closed her eyes. She was still a little tired. "It was nothing. I just fell asleep after Faith did."

Fang shook her head as if she was disappointed. "Falling asleep at your own party..."

Vanille became worried. "I hope that it's not too boring." She hoped that Lightning was having fun with them.

Lightning leaned her arm against the table. "What do you guys expect? I was tired before this and you did spring this party on me last minute."

Fang waved her hand in the air. "Fine! Fine! Let's get back to it."

* * *

After some time later, the girls hear a noise. They looked over and saw some familiar faces entering in through the door in the kitchen. Vanille stood up. "You guys are back already?" The rest of the girls were also surprised to see them back this soon.

Snow grinned. "We had our party so now we decided to crash this one."

Sazh placed his hand on Noel's shoulder. "And look who we brought back."

Noel waved his hand. "Hey!"

Serah stood up happy and embraced him. "Hey! It's been a while!"

Noel embraced her back. "It's good to see you again." After they separated, Noel turned his eyes over to Lightning who was still sitting. "So…? I heard you're getting married."

"More or less," Lightning answered.

Noel half grinned, half smirked. "Come on! Aren't you happy at all?"

"I'll be happy when it's over." Even though Lightning didn't smile, the answer didn't lighten Hope's smile. Her eyes traveled over and noticed Hope step into sight. Soon he went over and sat beside Lightning.

Fang waved her hand as a signal for them to come over. "Sit! Now that we got more people, this is going to be interesting." Everyone listened and started sitting down.

Hope looked over at Lightning. "So how is everything going?"

Lightning sighed, thinking about what they had been doing before they came. "Fine I guess."

"How's Faith?" he asked curiously.

Her eyes traveled over to him as she leaned her chin in the palm of her hand. "Woke up once, but then went right back to sleep. She was asking for you."

That surprised Hope a little, but made him happy. "Really?"

Lightning looked over toward Snow who was talking with Serah. "I see you made it home okay. Snow didn't get you to drink too much did he?"

Hope smiled. "No. I'm fine. I couldn't lose him though. I don't think he's drunk enough for that yet. He still found his way back." The joke made Lightning let out a smile.

"All right! All right! Drinks all around!" Fang slid more shot glasses to the guys. "So time to think of something else to do."

Vanille grinned. "Ooh! How about a game?!"

Fang rubbed her fingers against her chin. "A game huh?" A smirk crossed her lips as an idea popped into her mind. "How about a little truth or dare?" Her eyes turned to the other end of the table. "And we'll start off with attention of the party."

Lightning sighed as she closed her eyes. Even though she knew why, she still didn't want to be the target. "Why me?"

Fang grinned. "All right Hope! Pick one. Truth or dare."

Before Hope could answer, Lightning spoke first. "If you say truth, I will kill you."

Hope was stunned. Already he was getting threatened and he didn't know why. Not wanting to press it any further, he picked the only option he could. His eyes traveled between Lightning and Fang. "Dare I guess."

Fang smirked. "You could pick truth if you want. You don't have to listen to her."

Sazh sighed with his eyes closed. "Already trying to get him in trouble I see before they even settle down. Remember what we said before."

Hope let out a small smile with a look of defeat. "Sometimes it's best not to argue, but just go with it."

Snow smiled as he placed up his thumb. "We taught him well."

Lightning crossed her arms as she glared a little at Fang. "Besides I think we had enough truth telling today haven't we?"

"No." Fang shook her head a little. "Anyway so here's what you have to do." She paused a moment, letting the suspense build. She let out a smirk and pointed her glass toward Lightning. "All you have to do is kiss the bride to be."

Hope was surprised. That sounded easy enough. "That's it?"

Fang leaned her arm against the table. "It better be a good show. If not, you have to drink."

Lightning looked upset. "You can't just change the rules like that."

Fang waved her finger. "It's not changing it. Give her the best kiss of her life."

"He passes," Lightning told her.

Fang circled her finger around the table. "If he passes then he has to drink everyone's shots. You don't have to be shy."

Lightning looked serious. "There is no way that-." Before she could finish arguing, she felt her body being leaning back, cradled in a pair of arms, and a pair of lips meeting hers. Being caught by surprise, her eyes widened. She pressed her hands against Hope's chest, thinking about pushing him away. Behind them, they could hear the sounds of cheers and oohs. Slowly they leaned down until her back was pressed the floor. When Hope lifted up from her, Lightning stared at him still surprised at what happened.

Above her, there was a grin on Hope's face. Going for it and not having to drink everyone's drinks was better than her being mad at him, if she was, for going through with it. Hope sat up and turned back forward. He looked across the table at Fang as he smiled confident and playful. "I think that I handled that well."

Fang smiled as she gave a look of defeat. "Fine you get through this one." She leaned her arm against the table as she gave a small smirk. "That actually quieted her down." On the floor Lightning frowned as she crossed her arms. Her eyes drifted off to the side. Serah kept herself from laughing at her lying on the ground. "All right you. Come back up here," Fang told her.

Reluctantly Lightning sat back up with her arms still crossed. "What now?"

Fang let out a smirk. "Your turn." Lightning didn't want to think about what she had in store...

Minutes later, Lightning was lying down on the floor. "Is this really necessary?"

"You're the one who's against picking truth," she could hear Fang's voice in the background. Fang's eyes traveled over to Vanille as she smiled. "Nice thinking. This should be fun to watch."

Vanille grinned hoping her idea would be funny. "Go Hope!"

Nervously Hope smiled before his eyes traveled over to Lightning. His eyes met with hers. "Don't worry. This will be over soon." Lightning sighed. He leaned down toward her exposed stomach, pressing his face against her skin. On her bellybutton, there was a small piece of fruit. As hard as she tried not to crack a smile, it ended up seeping through. The feeling of his moving lips was ticklish to the point that she had to laugh quietly. Around there were grins holding back laughter as they watched. Finally Hope lifted up from her and helped Lightning to sit up.

Fang smirked. "Wow! I didn't think you would actually do it."

Lightning straightened out her shirt as she looked down. "That just seemed like you gave him another challenge." Fang and Vanille shrugged. Lightning stood up and started walking off. "I'm going to step out before you come up with anymore ideas."

Hope stood up after her. It sounded like a good idea plus he could be alone with her for a little. "I'll come with you."

Fang's eyes traveled toward Serah and Snow. "Hmm… Now I wonder what else we can make someone do." Nervously Serah and Snow smiled seeing that they were her next targets.

Lightning stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a towel from nearby. Hope stepped in beside her. He smiled a little. "Having fun?"

There was a faint smile to her lips as she used the towel to wipe her stomach. "I didn't expect you to actually do that."

Nervously he smiled a little. "Well it was either that or the alternative."

"Hmm..." Lightning placed the towel on the counter. She crossed her arms as she lifted her eyes up to Hope who stood in front of her. "So what did you guys do on your night out?"

Hope shrugged a little. "Nothing much. Just talked for a while."

She arched her eyebrow as she thought back. "What was that whole thing about earlier between you and the guys? That it's best not to argue and we taught him well?"

Hope's lips curved up into a smile. "While we were out, they were teaching me the rules of marriage. One of the things they said is that sometimes it's best not to argue." He lowered his eyes disappointed. "Sometimes you just won't win."

Lightning's lips curved up into a smile. She placed her hand against his cheek. "Good advice."

He grabbed onto her hand. "Ready to go back now?"

She closed her eyes for a little before opening them to him. "Not really. I don't think I'm ready to get tortured again."His lips curved into a smile as he stepped toward her. Lightning took notice and knew what he was up to. "You do know that the others aren't that far away right?" she reminded him.

"This won't take long." Hope leaned in and kissed her.

For a few moments they forgot where they were, only focusing on each other. Soon Hope and Lightning looked over once they heard a sound behind them. They spotted Serah nearby with a smile on her face. Lightning placed her hand on her hip. "You're not here to drag us back are you?"

Serah walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "No. I just came to grab something and take a break like you guys."

"Didn't want to get dragged into crazy stuff either?" Hope asked.

Nervously Serah smiled. "Not really." Soon her nervous smile turned into a small smirk. "So trying to get away from the party just to get some alone time?"

Lightning looked serious as she crossed her arms. "Not really. Just trying not to give them any more ideas. We should probably head back now before they send a search party after us." Hope and Serah let out grins and followed Lightning back into the living room to find out what they were in store for next.

"All right…" Vanille placed her finger to her chin. "Never have I ever…" Once an idea popped into her mind she smiled. "Ooh! I know! I haven't traveled to all the new places on Pulse and I really want to one day!"

At the table Lightning and Hope took a sip of their drinks. As the night continued to progress, they decided to switch games and try something different. Serah looked over curious at Lightning. "You've traveled to all the new places on Pulse?"

Lightning placed her glass on the table and turned her attention to Serah. "While I was still active in the military, we did surveillance all around and made sure that people are safe."

Fang smirked as an idea came to mind. "All right! I got one. Never have I ever had a kid." Around the table Lightning, Hope, and Sazh drunk from their glasses. Right away Fang noticed that Sazh did. "Oh right! I didn't mean to make you drink." Lightning gave a slight frown. Because of that, she could tell what Fang was up to. Fang waved her hand. "Sorry what I meant to say is that I never had a child that's a girl."

"Yeah right. Like that's what you really meant," Lightning replied as she drunk along with Hope.

"All right. I think that I got one." Noel spoke, following Fang's pattern. "I've never taken over the world with scientists."

Hope sighed with his eyes closed and reluctantly took a drink. "Trying to gain up on us too?" Lightning asked.

Noel smiled and pointed back toward Fang with his thumb. "She started it."

Lightning looked serious at Fang. "We have ways of making you drink too."

Fang smirked. "Bring it on then." Her eyes traveled over to Snow. "But for now, it's your turn big guy."

Before Snow could speak, they suddenly heard a sound echo through the room. Lightning recognized the small cries and whimpering and stood up from the table. "I'll be right back."

Hope stood up and followed after her. "I'll go with you."

Fang smiled at them. "Sure you'll be okay? You did drink a lot."

Lightning looked down at her. "Actually we haven't been since we came back. We switched out the alcohol for water. So much for your plan of getting us drunk."

Fang smirked. She was impressed that they slipped that little detail passed her. "There always next time."

Afterwards Hope and Lightning headed upstairs back to their room. Hope was the first to reach the bed where Faith was. Lightning closed the door behind them. Hope smiled toward Faith as he picked her up. "Hey! Why the sad face?"

Faith calmed down a little as she stared into his eyes. "Daddy."

Lightning turned off the monitor remembering last time what happened and then sat beside Hope as she gave a gentle smile. "See. I told you when you woke up, you would see him again." Hope glanced at her before turning his attention back to Faith. It didn't take long before he managed to make her smile. The fact that he did even got Lightning to smile.

Minutes later, Hope was leaning his head back against the wall as he was somewhat sitting up and Faith was asleep on his chest. Beside him, Lightning was lying down close to him. "This is nice. I guess this is what would have happened if we just spent the night in," she heard him say above her.

Lightning sat up moving in closer to him and leaned her head against his side. He was a little surprised that he had done so, but soon relaxed. "Yeah," she responded. "Thank you for helping out with Faith. I couldn't figure out why she kept waking up. Maybe she'll actually sleep through the night now."

Hope sat up still holding onto Faith with one arm. "I'm going to go put her in her room."

Lightning grabbed onto the monitor and followed Hope into Faith's room. He placed her down in her crib and placed a blanket over her. Lightning placed the monitor nearby. She leaned against the rail to check on Faith one more time. "I guess we better get back. She seems okay now."

Suddenly she felt hands placed on her shoulders and the feeling of warm breath against the nape of her neck. "Do we have to go so soon?" the voice behind her breathed anxiously.

Her eyes drifted back as much as they could. "If we don't, then someone's bound to get suspicious."

Hope leaned his head against her shoulder and on the side of her head as his arms wrapped around her waist. "Not necessarily. I haven't forgotten about what occurred earlier."

Instantly Lightning recalled what happened before he left. "What? They didn't bring you anyone to play with to your party?" she said sympathetically, but sarcastically.

A faint smirk appeared over Hope's lips. "They did bring me back here to you."

Lightning began to walk away from him. "Yeah…Play time might have to be later."

Suddenly she felt her wrist being grabbed which made her stop. Before she could speak, she found her lips pressed against his. Hope stepped forward which made her step back. Her back became pressed against the wall trapped between it and his body. As passionately as he kissed her, it was hard to pull away. More she found herself giving into that temptation of staying behind with him. Her fingers reached over grabbing into his shirt. He parted from her lips as he pressed his forehead against hers. Both were breathing heavily. The brush of his lips against hers teased her a bit. "Why can't we now?" he whispered seductively.

The offer was tempting to her. She could feel his hands holding onto hers that were on his chest. They soon moved along her arms to the sides of her body, caressing and continuing to tease her. A part of her mind was in a haze and still considering the possibility. He leaned in and kissed her again. His hands slid up against her toward her chest and gently grasped her breasts. She breathed out more once she felt his hands move. His lips traveled from hers to the skin of her neck. Her eyes remained closed as she took in the pleasurable feeling he was giving her.

Afterwards Hope stepped backwards. Lightning lifted her blue eyes to meet his emerald ones. He breathed out heavily and then turned and headed toward the door. As her body relaxed a little, curiously her eyes followed him. At first he was teasing her, but now he was just backing away. She didn't understand it. "Where are you going?"

Hope looked back at her. His hand grabbed onto the strands of his hair, resisting the urges that his mind and body wanted. "I'm going back downstairs. I thought that's what you wanted to do." Afterwards he turned and left from the room. It gave Lightning a short time to think whether she wanted to take him up on his offer or not.

In the hallway, before Hope could reach the first step on the stairs, he suddenly felt himself being pulled back. Surprised he saw her with a serious look, but a bit of yearning behind her expression. She pulled him inside of their room and closed the door behind them. Nearby the door inside, she pushed him against the wall and captured his lips with her own. Seconds later, Hope managed to pull away from her. "What happened to getting back?"

"Just let them think that we're still busy." Lightning moved back in and pressed her lips against his anxiously.

Downstairs Snow looked over toward the stairs curious. "They've been gone for a while."

Fang leaned her head against her arm as she had her elbow pressed down on the table. "I say that we continue playing."

Serah looked over at Snow. "Maybe it's taking longer with Faith than they thought. I'm sure that everything is fine."

* * *

Inside of their room, Lightning still had Hope's body between her and the wall. As they were breathing hard and had the hunger to still continue, her fingers reached underneath his shirt and pulled it over his head. Blindly she tossed it off to the side. Right after, she began working on his belt as she kissed him again. It didn't take long before she managed to take off his belt, pants, and everything else underneath. Hope was surprised by how quickly she moved. He didn't get the chance to remove anything from her yet.

Lightning turned them around and caused him to walk backwards as she walked forward. She pressed her hand against his chest and pushed him down lightly. His back fell and bounced a little against the mattress of their bed. Before Hope could move further up to where his knees weren't hanging over the edge, Lightning crawled over him sitting on her hands and knees. She leaned in and continued to kiss him. His hands caressed against her sides onto her back. Soon she felt his hands pressed against her hips and the gently squeezes that he gave. Her lips traveled down to where his neck was. She gave soft kisses and slight tugs at his skin. "Aren't you going to help me get them off?" she whispered in his ear.

Listening, his hands reached underneath her skirt and pulled away her underwear. She helped by shifting her legs to help get them off. Soon he tossed them off to the side. Lightning sat up on top of him. With her hand, she grabbed onto his member and slid him inside of her. He breathed out already feeling the moisture inside. She began to rock back and forth as she leaned forward. As she moved, her lips met with his. His hands reached up and slid the top of her shirt from her shoulders. Shortly after, he lifted it up from her body, breaking their kiss temporarily, and tossed it off to the side. Feeling his hands slide against the thin barrier of her bra, she breathed out as she closed her eyes. His hands caressed over the fabric until he reached up and pulled the straps off of her shoulders onto the side of her arms. He reached in behind her and loosened the hooks that were keeping it around her body. Lightning lifted her eyes to Hope's as they both tossed away the piece of clothing. He reached down toward the zipper on her skirt, but she removed his hand. She was still eager to continue and didn't want to break away their connection. "Leave it."

Hope listened and let his lips meet with hers again. His hands reached up and grabbed her chest. His thumbs caressed over the most sensitive areas. He could feel the sense of pleasure starting to get overwhelming. He didn't want for things to end just yet especially without her. He pushed himself up making both of them sit up. She slowed down a little, giving his body time to relax. The kisses they shared between them were passionate and intense. A muffled moan escaped from within her. Her hands were pressed against his chest closer toward his shoulders. She moved her head toward the side of his. Her tongue spread over his earlobe and neck and bit down softly. He left a trail of kisses from her collarbone down to her chest. He replaced one of his hands working at her breast with his lips. His now free hand caressed along her back down to her hips. He grabbed onto them making her body jump in excitement. Her panting was starting to become loud enough for him to hear.

Eager to get back to how they were before, she pushed him down on the bed and continued riding him. Both of her hands were pressed down on the bed. He leaned his head up slightly still keeping his mouth and tongue to her breast along with his hand caressing the other.

Soon she felt it; that overwhelming pleasure from deep inside her. She closed her eyes tight as a sudden cry left from her. Her head tilted back as she moved faster. More her body began to take over, leaving her mind behind. A few cries left from her lips. Her insides tightened in around him. His head tilted back against the bed as he closed his eyes. He let his other hand take over continuing to caress her. His breathing was beginning to become more audible, but not as much as her cries. Deep inside, she felt her release dripping down her tightened walls. Even after, she still felt a sense of pleasure that felt too good to stop. Underneath her, Hope's body was trembling. He grabbed onto her thighs as he felt his end near. His fingers tightened in on her legs. He let out a few soft moans before he felt his release. Afterwards his body began to relax against the mattress as he kept his eyes closed. On top of him, he could still Lightning moving. She continued on until she felt the pleasurable feeling subside and she could no longer feel him. As she was breathing hard, she had her hands pinning down his arms against the bed. Tired, she laid her body against his as her face became buried in his warm, moist neck. Beside him, he could still hear her breathing hard. He was a little himself. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he rest along with her.

* * *

Sometime later, the others were still downstairs talking. Out of the corner of his eye, Snow looked over and then smiled. "Hey! We were wondering what happened to you two."

Everyone looked over to see Hope walking ahead of Lightning as he held her hand in his. There was a smile to his lips. "Sorry about that." Hope looked over at Lightning still keeping his smile on. "It took longer than we thought." In return, a faint smile appeared on her toward him. For now, they would walk in pretending as if nothing had happened.

They sat back at the table where they were sitting before. Concerned, Serah looked over toward Lightning. "Was everything okay?"

Lightning looked over to her. "Everything is fine. There's nothing to worry about."

Later into the night, everyone in the living room was lying on the floor asleep. The night had come to a close with everyone drifting off. The only two still up were Hope and Serah. Serah looked around as she smiled. "I'm surprised. Everyone fell asleep."

There was a faint smile on Hope's lips. "Yeah." His back was pressed against the couch. His eyes traveled down to Lightning who was asleep with her head on his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her waist.

Serah looked over, noticing as well. Then she turned her attention to Hope. "So you must be pretty happy. The ceremony is going to be in a few days."

Hope gave a tired smile. "Yeah."

"Hope? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Hope looked over, but then his expression changed to surprised. There was a serious look on Serah's face. It had put him on edge somewhat. She gave a similar glare that Lightning would give him when she was upset.

Serah continued on with what she wanted to ask. "Do you love my sister?"

He was surprised that she would ask that. "Yes! Of course."

Serah leaned her arm against the table. "And you're not just marrying her because of Faith?" She knew that Lightning had the same reservations when they spoke a while back.

Hope breathed in a little, thinking about his answer. He then turned his head toward Serah. "I'll admit that a part of the reason is that I want us to be a family. I lost my mother and my father died before I traveled years into the future. There was no one of my family left." Then he turned his head and looked toward Lightning. "I wasn't sure if I would have one like this again." He smiled over at Serah. "I mean you guys are like my family and soon we really will be, but in a way, it feels different when you have someone of your blood. This was really different for me."

Serah glanced toward his shoulder. She noticed a slight movement from Lightning with her facial expression. It was then that she became curious. She returned her attention back to Hope. "So you don't regret at all what happened with Lightning and having Faith?"

Hope shook his head and then smiled. "No not at all. I wanted to have a family again and it's already happened. A little sooner than I expected, but I'm happy nonetheless. Also it's as I told Lightning before, without or without Faith, I would love her regardless. I wouldn't have changed my mind. There are a lot of things that I love about her."

Serah leaned forward interested as she smiled. "Oh really? What?" Once she asked that, she noticed Hope become quiet and smile nervously. "Oh come on! It's just the two of us. You don't have to be nervous about saying how you feel about my sister and why you want to marry her. I think that it would be great to hear."

Hope knew that Serah had a point. He wasn't afraid to express his feelings. "All right. Well… there are sometimes she can scare even me when she gets angry, but in a way it's kind of cute. There are a lot of little habits about her that I love. One is the way she denies snoring when she actually does."

Serah let out a quiet laugh. "Yeah. I know that."

Hope lowered his eyes thinking while keeping a smile on. "I don't know… It's just that I can't imagine not seeing her in my life. I wake up every day and see her sleeping face. It's a beautiful sight. Something that I could get use to seeing every day. It just makes me… smile. Even if I don't smile for the rest of the day, I know that no matter what, waking up next to her everyone morning would."

Serah grinned as she leaned her head on her hands that were together. "Awe! That's really sweet what you said." When she looked down toward his shoulder, she noticed something which made her smile more. On Lightning's lips, there was a smile. Serah wanted to laugh a little, but kept it to herself. She knew that Lightning was awake and probably didn't want Hope to know that she was.

Nervously Hope smiled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to go on like that."

"It's okay. I was the one who asked you. It was really nice to hear. You should probably tell Lightning some time," Serah suggested.

"Maybe… Anyway it's getting late. I'm starting to fall asleep myself." At that point, he was ready to get some sleep after a long day and night.

Serah nodded. "Same here. I hope that the party was fun."

"It was," Hope answered. "If you want, I can set up a bed in my office in the extra room."

"Thank you for that." Serah's eyes traveled over to Snow lying on the floor sleeping and snoring. "It's probably too late to wake up Snow." Afterwards she stood up.

Hope sat up a little. He didn't want to wake Lightning up, but he knew that she probably wanted to sleep in her own bed. "Hey." Soon, Lightning woke up. She got up along with him and headed toward their room. Hope set the room aside in his office for Serah and placed a thick blanket on the floor for her to sleep on along with a pillow and extra blanket. Afterwards, both Lightning and Hope said their good nights before heading to their room.

Before they went in, Lightning grabbed onto his arm which caught his attention. Hope turned around. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She placed a kiss against his lips. Once she separated from him, he looked surprised. "What was that for?" All she left him with was a smile before she headed inside of the room. Even though she knew the answer and could tell him it was because of what he said about her, she would leave that for him to figure out.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I'll be back to update soon!_


	3. The Beginning of a New Day

_**Author's Notes: **Thank you to everyone for sending in reviews and adding this to your favorites and alerts! I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. A lot had came up that time had slipped passed. Anyway I hope that you'll like the next chapters to come. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

_Chapter 3: The Beginning of a New Day:_

The next morning, Lightning slowly opened her eyes. The bedroom was lit up with sunlight. When she looked over toward the time, it was still early in the morning. When she looked over on the other side of her, she saw that Hope was asleep while lying on his stomach. She rose out of bed and left from the room. There was one person on her mind that she had to check on. She stepped inside of Faith's room. Already Faith was awake, standing up in her crib. Lightning stepped in front of her as she gave a faint smile. "I see you're already awake." She picked up Faith. "Good thing I did come in to check on you." Carrying Faith, she headed out of her room and back toward her.

In a room further down the hall, Serah stepped out of it and noticed Lightning walking in the opposite direction toward her room. Before she could say anything, it was too late. She had already gone back inside her room. Not sure if she should visit her now or later, Serah stepped back into the Hope's office, her temporary room she stayed in for the night.

Inside of the couple's bedroom, a few giggles escaped from the young girl as Lightning held her arms up in the air, bouncing her up and down. Afterwards Faith sat down. To pass the time, the two played with her favorite doll. Lightning slightly waved the bunny in front of her, but it seemed that Faith's attention was elsewhere. Lightning noticed that she was staring over at Hope who was still sleeping. Faith went over to him and touched his face. "Faith…No." Faith turned her attention over to Lightning who had a stern stare. "Don't wake up your dad all right?"

Faith placed her finger to her lip as she plopped down. "No?"

"No," Lightning made sure that she understood. Faith returned to staring at the sleeping man with the tips of her fingers in her mouth. Acting on what she wanted, she crawled underneath the covers. The action surprised Lightning. "Faith." She lunged over trying to catch her, but was unable to get her. Faith had moved quickly. Lightning watched until the moving blanket had been reduced to minimal movements. Breathing out while still asleep, Hope turned on his side. He didn't know what was pushing him, but he just followed it. Soon Faith's head appeared from underneath the covers and leaned in closer toward Hope. Her eyes lowered to a close as she decided to go back to sleep. The warmth coming off of his body was helping her to get more tired. Barely awake, he wrapped his arm around her.

Lightning's lips curved up into a smile. She had to admit that she was impressed by how Faith got things how she wanted them. Her eyes traveled down, noticing Hope's arm that was stretch out toward her. An idea came to mind seeing that both of them were asleep. Figuring that everyone else was still asleep after last night and still feeling a little tired herself, she moved in close to both of them. Her head rested on his arm. Her eyes lowered to a close as she fell back to sleep herself.

Sometime later, there was a knock on the door. Tired, Lightning opened her eyes. When she looked over, it seems that neither Faith nor Hope responded to the noise. She left from the bed and went over to the door. When she opened it, she was a little surprised and curious. "Serah?"

Serah smiled a little. "Sorry. I didn't wake you did I?"

Lightning looked over. "Yeah, but it's all right."

Serah peeked in and saw that Hope and Faith were still sleeping. Serah turned her attention back to Lightning. "I can just come back later."

Lightning looked curious. "It's okay." Serah stepped in and Lightning closed the door behind her.

Serah looked back at her. "Are you sure that it's okay?"

Lightning looked over toward the others. "Please. Those two are sleeping so hard they won't hear a thing." Lightning sat down on the bed as Serah sat in front of her. "So what brings you by this early?"

Serah smiled a little. "I saw that the others were still asleep and I saw that you were up earlier. I just wanted to see if you still were." Her eyes traveled over to Hope and Faith. "Awe…! They look so cute sleeping together. Faith is the cutest baby in the world."

Lightning followed her eyes. She thought that she couldn't take all the credit for it. "Well I had help."

Serah gave a gentle smile. "She has hair like yours." She was tempted to touch Faith's hair for herself, but didn't want to wake her.

Lightning stared over at them. "Yeah. She has Hope's eyes. It was the first thing I noticed when she opened them for the first time. I liked that she did."

Serah turned her attention back to Lightning as she smiled. "So I guess that this is how things will be for a while. You're happy with that right?"

"Well it's too late to get out of anything now," Lightning answered.

Serah laughed a little at her sarcasm. "I guess I'll take that as a yes. You love Hope right?"

Lightning looked over at his sleeping face. It didn't take her long to think about. "Yeah." She gave her honest answer without hesitation. Her eyes traveled back to Serah. "At first I wasn't sure about this or where this was going, but I guess this is just how things turned out."

Serah gave a gentle smile, glad. "That's good." Then she went to another question that she had in mind. "So how were the months before Faith was born?"

With that, Lightning let out a sigh. Her eyes drifted off to the side. "I don't know how to start. One day, I felt one way and the next day would be different." Her eyes traveled over to Hope. "One day I would want Hope around, but then the next I would want to throw him out of a window. Some of it was just horrible. My feet would hurt. I would feel sick. You name it."

Nervously Serah smiled. "I guess that's… something fun to look forward to…"

With those words, confusion and suspicion became written on Lightning's face. "Why are you asking me…? Wait. You were doing the same thing last night. Is there something that you want to tell me or you just like asking me questions?"

More, Serah looked nervous. "I was just asking. You seemed okay when you were staying in New Bodhum with us."

Lightning crossed her arms, her suspicion never leaving. "Sure that's the only reason?" Her eyes drifted off to the side until an idea popped up into her mind. Surprised, she quickly turned her head to Serah. "Wait! You're not-." Serah didn't answer, but only gave a nervous smile. The news had Lightning stunned. Suddenly Serah felt arms wrap around her which caught her by surprise. Lightning leaned back as she placed her hands on Serah's shoulder. "How long have you've known?"

Serah smiled. "Just a few weeks. So far, you're the first person I've told. I haven't even told Snow yet."

Lightning placed her hand against her cheek. "I see. Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? Is there anything I can get you? Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Serah had to smile over the sudden concern of her sister. "I'm fine really. I wasn't sure how I would tell you."

Lightning looked concerned. "If there's anything you need, let me know. If you want, you can stay here if it will help."

Serah smiled nervously. "I'm fine. You don't have to watch over me."

Lightning relaxed a little. She just wanted to help her get through things, but she would ease off and help when Serah asked her to. "All right. You better tell him soon though."

"He'll probably figure it out as time goes on if I don't," Serah replied.

"Yeah right. He'll probably just think you've gain weight or something." Lightning pointed over toward Hope with her thumb. "The first time I told him after being separated for a while, that's the first thing he thought. As smart as he is, they never think of that possibility."

Serah smiled a little as her eyes lowered. "I don't know… What if something happens or what if I'm not a good mother or something?"

Lightning placed a comforting hand on Serah's shoulder which Serah lifted her eyes. "I used to think the same things, but this is something that you just have to face head on." She reached down and pulled out a drawer from her dresser. Inside of it were books. "While I was pretty much here all day, I would read through these things so that I would be prepared." She looked back up at Serah. "But it becomes different once you actually go through the real thing. Don't worry. You'll be a good mother. You'll probably be better off than I was. I didn't know anything about kids. You at least teach them for a living."

Serah grinned a little. "It's different having a kid of your own instead of watching other people's children." Her eyes traveled over to Faith. "But I do hope to be a good mother like you are."

"You will be great. Don't worry so much about it," Lightning assured her.

Serah returned her attention back to Faith, thinking. "Faith seems shy around other people. She's really quiet when we're around."

Lightning scoffed at the remark. "Yeah she's that way when she's around other people, but just watch her when she's around us. She gets like her dad. You can't get her to shut up for anything."

Serah laughed as quietly as she could. Her eyes traveled over and saw Faith's doll nearby. She picked it up observing the stuffed bunny. "Is this Faith's?"

Lightning looked over at the doll. "Yeah. It's her favorite doll that Hope brought her. I'm glad that he did."

Serah became curious. "How come?"

"It's a long story. It happened when Faith had just turned two." Lightning placed her hand to her head as she closed her eyes. "I was exhausted out of my mind. I didn't know if I could keep up with her."

Serah was concerned to hear that. Before Lightning could continue, they both looked over noticing movement. Nearby Faith was starting to wake up. She lifted her eyelids and stared forward to what was in front of her. Her fingers brushed against Hope's face which caused him to wake up. When he opened his eyes, at first he was surprised, but then he gave a tired smile. "How did you end up over here?" The feelings of her fingers against his nose felt ticklish which made him smile more. When he lifted his eyes, he saw that Lightning was already up with Serah. He was surprised to see Serah there. He sat up a little on his elbow. "Hey."

"Morning," Lightning responded.

Serah smiled cheerful. "Good morning. I hope that you don't mind me coming over this early."

Hope smiled a little. He knew how much the two sisters liked spending time together. It didn't bother him. "It's fine."

Lightning looked over at Serah. "Serah just needed to talk to me about something important."

Hope became curious. "What's going on?" At first he spoke without thinking, but then thought that maybe that they wanted to keep it a private conversation. "Sorry."

Serah smiled nervously. "It's okay."

Hope started to get concerned. "Is it something serious? Are you okay?"

Serah didn't want him to worry especially when there was nothing to worry about. "No! No. It's nothing like that."

Lightning looked over at Serah. "Well it kind of is."

Hope looked curious and eager to know what it was. His eyes traveled between the two of them. Both of them noticed his expression. "It's all right if he knows. Everyone's bound to find out eventually." She smiled at Hope. "I wanted to talk to Lightning about what it was like having Faith."

Hope wasn't sure what she meant behind it. "Okay... Well Lightning's the best person to ask. How come you wanted to know?"

Serah and Lightning looked at each other. "I told you it wouldn't be the first thing they would think of," Lightning replied before turning her attention back to Hope. "Think about it." She reached over and rubbed her hand through Faith's hair which made Faith laugh. Faith reached her hands up and grabbed onto Lightning's hand.

Hearing that had made things click. Surprised, he looked over at Serah. "You're…" He turned his eyes over to Lightning. "…like Light was once..."

"Now you're getting it," Lightning told him.

Nervously Serah smiled. "Yeah…First one…"

Hope smiled. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, but keep it a secret for now. I haven't even told Snow yet," Serah told him.

Hope was a little surprised. Then he became curious. "How come? I'm sure he will be excited."

"I know. I wanted to wait until the right time and surprise him. First I wanted to ask Lightning what it was like and what to expect," Serah explained.

Lightning closed her eyes, remembering some of those things too clearly. "Expect nine months of torture."

Hope laughed with his eyes closed. "Come on! It wasn't that ba-." Once he opened his eyes, instantly he turned silent and on edge once he saw the glare that Lightning gave him. Nervously he smiled. "It had its moments that…weren't all that good..."

"You should remember some of them," Lightning reminded him.

Hope closed his eyes as he breathed out a little. "The unexpected food runs. After a while, it was just best to get what wasn't asked for to be on the safe side."

Serah grinned. Hope turned his attention to Faith standing in front of him and smiled toward her. She placed her hands on top of his eyes casting darkness over them. "Daddy sleep."

Hope chuckled. "But I'm not tired."

"Daddy sleep." Faith grabbed onto the blanket as best as she could and pulled it until it covered over his head.

Serah couldn't help but laugh. It even caused Lightning to smile. "I guess I got someone else to make sure that he's getting enough sleep."

Hope flipped the covers back and looked over at Lightning. "So it's safe to assume that she got this from you?"

Lightning gave him a smile. "I guess so."

Soon his eyes traveled over noticing the grin on the young child's face. Faith climbed over him and sat behind his head. Hope looked behind him as far as he could. "What are you up to?" All Faith could give was a grin.

Lightning turned her attention back to Serah. Serah smiled, interested. "So finish telling me the rest of the story."

Lightning was curious as to what she was talking about. "About the doll?" Her eyes traveled down as she was thinking back. "Well…"

"Light! A little help here…" Lightning's eyes traveled over to where Hope was. He was busy trying to pull Faith away as she was laughing and pulling at his hair.

Lightning frowned. "If you don't establish dominance then she's just going to keep doing whatever she wants. Let her know it's not good to do that."

Finally Hope managed to pull her away and make her stand in front of him. "I know that. Believe me I've tried."

Faith grinned and reached her hands toward him again. Suddenly she looked surprised as she felt an arm wrap around her stomach. Lightning made Faith sit in front of her. "You're staying right here."

Serah laughed a little. She looked sympathetic after. "It must be hard."

Hope relaxed as he turned on his stomach and leaned his head against his arms that were crossed in front of him. "Sometimes it's not easy having two Lightnings around the house."

Lightning looked over at him a little upset. Curiously, Faith looked over as well. "I'm not that bad," Lightning told him.

Serah grinned. "Yes you are."

Hope closed his eyes as he shook his head a little. "I told you about showing violence in front of her and now she's learning it from you."

Serah smiled at Lightning. "I remember when you used to be that way when we were really young."

Lightning looked serious. "I'm not that bad."

"Well… Maybe not so much the hair pulling, but there were other things," Serah pointed out. Lightning sighed as she shook her head. She still didn't think that she was that bad. Curious, Faith noticed her doll in front of Serah. She stood up and stepped in front of her. Serah smiled and held up the doll. "Here Faith. You want this back?"

Frowning and upset, Faith hit her hand and took the doll from her. Lightning and Hope reacted with surprise. They couldn't believe what Faith did. It surprised Serah as well. The strike didn't hurt her really, but she was just stunned that it happened. Upset, Lightning picked up Faith and made her turn toward her. "No! You do not hit your aunt."

Serah smiled nervously. She didn't want a big deal to be made. "It's okay. Really."

Lightning glanced at her before returning her attention back to Faith. "No it's not. Say you're sorry." Faith pouted. She sat down in front of Lightning and stared up at her. She mirrored the same glare as Lightning gave her. It seemed that neither one of them were backing down. Lightning closed her eyes. She knew Faith was just going to be stubborn so she needed another way to get her to behave and know what she did was wrong. "Fine. You don't want to say you're sorry." She took the doll from her. "Then you're not getting this back." She tossed the doll toward Hope which he caught surprised. Understanding what Lightning wanted him to do, he placed the doll on the floor on the side of the bed out of Faith's sight.

Faith was surprised. She was about to go over to it, but Lightning stopped her. "You won't get it back until you say sorry to your dad and your aunt." Faith's eyes began to tear up. She closed her eyes tight. She reached over to hug onto Lightning, but Lightning placed her hands on her shoulders keeping distance between them. "No. You don't get to do that." She used her thumbs to wipe away her tears. "And you don't get to cry about it either."

Through her tears, Faith looked over to her father. She loosened herself out of Lightning's hand and tried to go over to Hope, but he stopped her before she could, placing his hands on her arms. He shook his head. "No. I'm not letting you get away with your bad behavior either. Do what your mom says. Tell everyone you're sorry or no more other toys either." Faith's eyes shook. Soon she threw her body on the bed on her front side with her face buried in her arms.

Everyone around was a little concerned. Lightning sighed. "She'll come around. She usually does when she's punished." Her eyes lifted up to Hope. "You did the right thing."

Hope nodded. "I know. You're right. She can't get away with anything she wants."

Lightning shook her head a little. "Besides she more attached to that thing then she should be."

Hope smiled a little. "Seriously Lightning and her little clone. The only difference is you can't put one of them in time out." He started laughing with his eyes closed until he felt himself being pushed.

When he looked up, he saw Lightning looming over him with a dark look in her eyes. "You think that's funny?"

He smiled despite what she might do to him next. "Yeah."

Lightning poked him in the stomach which made him let out a sudden breath. "I'll show you what's funny." Soon she started pushing him toward the edge of the bed, but he continued struggling to stop her force.

The few pokes and tickles she gave him made him laugh. Before he knew it, he fell off of the bed onto the floor. "Ow." Hope lifted his eyes to see her smirking proudly. "That wasn't funny."

Lightning kept her smile on. "It was to me." Serah laughed at how the two interacted. It was nice to see her sister having fun and feeling at ease. It made her glad that she was happy. Even Faith had to look over and giggle. Lightning looked back and noticed. She placed her hand on top of Faith's head. "Are you ready to say sorry yet?" Faith frowned and put her head down buried in the pillow. "Then you're still in time out." She turned her attention back to Hope who was sitting on the floor.

Nervously he smiled. "A little help."

Lightning sighed. "You do have working legs you know."

Hope held out his hand a little. It didn't seem that he was upset with her. "Well at least a little help after the way you hurt me just now."

"Big baby." Lightning reached down toward him. Hope smiled and grabbed onto her arm. Before she knew it, he was pulling at her arm. She became surprised. Hidden behind his smile was a little devious smirk. It started to display more. He would pay her back for what she did. Lightning continued struggling, but he had a good grip on her. "Hope! Let go of me!" Hope only smiled. Through their struggle, there was only one winner. Lightning fell on top of him. The other two spectators couldn't help but laugh at the two of them playing around with each other. Lightning sat in front of him as she gave him a serious stare. "I'm still getting you back for this."

Hope leaned his arm on his knee that was up. "I'm sure you'll try."

Lightning sighed and tried to get back on the bed, but felt herself being pulled back down by her waist. She sat back on the floor. Hope sat back on the bed and smiled down at her. He grabbed onto her hands and helped her sit back on the bed. She sat on her knees in front of him. Serah and Faith continued laughing. Lightning looked over at Faith noticing that she was happy. "We're not making this timeout harder on her like it should be."

"So are you two done flirting around now?" Lightning and Hope turned their attention to Serah who still had a clear grin.

Lightning crossed her arms as she looked serious. "We're not flirting around."

Serah grinned. "But it was really cute."

Hope leaned his head on Lightning's shoulder after she sat in front of him with his eyes closed and arms wrapped around her waist. "Careful. Lightning doesn't like to be called 'cute'."

Lightning looked back at him. "You don't get to call me that."

"Well I find that unfair," Hope replied.

Lightning slipped out of his embrace and returned back to sitting in front of Serah. "Anyway you wanted to know how she got the thing."

Hope looked curious. "What thing? The doll I gave her?" Afterwards, he stood up and went to his dresser nearby to grab a shirt and shorts to wear.

Lightning gave him a nod. "Yeah." Her eyes lowered toward the ground. "Things were okay then I guess."

Hope put on his shirt and looked over at her a little concerned. "Not really. I remembered that you were really tired. I even had to stay home from work for a few days."

Serah looked surprised, but then turned her concern to Lightning. "Were you all right? What happened?"

Lightning looked over at Serah. She didn't want her to worry. "It's nothing to worry about. It was in the past."

While they were talking among themselves, Hope had finished getting dressed. Afterwards, he sat down next to Lightning and looked over at Serah. "Dealing with Faith was a full time job in itself just like any child would be." He lifted his eyes to Lightning. "Overall it was taking a lot of energy and sleep out of her." Both of them thought back to what happened during that time...

* * *

_To be continued... Thanks for reading and I'll be back to update as soon as I can._


	4. I'll Be There For You

_**Author's Note:** Sorry about the wait to update! I should be getting back to a normal update schedule soon. Thank you for adding this to your favorites and alerts! _

_Also to the last reviewer, thank you so much for that sweet message! It means a lot to hear that! _

_This is a continuation of the last chapter so this one is going to be the start of a flashback. __Hope you'll like the next chapter of the story! _

* * *

_Chapter 4: I'll Be There For You:  
_

_Lightning's eyes lowered to a close as her hand rubbed against her face. Even the water that was on her hand didn't seem to bother her. Nothing much could those days. She felt exhausted. Her body was begging her for sleep, but her mind was still active on what she had to do. Whatever strength she had was left to keep her awake. Nearby she could hear the sound of laughing and splashing water. She opened her eyes just enough to see Faith playing around in the water with a few toys surrounding her. Lightning gave a faint smile at her having fun. She reached over and grabbed a small washcloth. Gently, she rubbed it against Faith's face which made her face scrunch up. Afterwards she put the cloth off to the side and closed her eyes as Faith proceeded to play again. She couldn't remember the last time she slept for so little. Even missions that required her to stay up a few days and nights weren't this exhausting. Since night was upon them, it soon meant that Faith would be sleeping and so could she too, even for a few minutes, as long as there was nothing else to do. _

"_Hey. There are you," a familiar voice said from nearby. _

_Suddenly Lightning felt a pair of hands touch her shoulders. She didn't notice when the person came in. She kept her eyes closed knowing clearly the familiar voice. "Hey." _

_The silver haired man kneeled down beside the bathtub as Lightning was sitting further up on the edge of it. He reached his hand over which Faith moved over and grabbed it. "Hey to you too. Are you having fun in there?" _

_Faith smiled as she let go of his hand and played with one of her toys. "...Yeah!" _

"_Just as hyper as ever." Hope closed his eyes as he breathed out. "It's going to be fun trying to get her to sleep," he replied sarcastically as he smiled. He lifted his eyes toward Lightning. He looked a little surprised. She had her eyes closed as her head was leaning against the wall. "Light?" _

"_I'm still awake," she told him. _

_Hope sighed and stood up. Soon she opened her eyes once she felt a hand grab onto her arm. When she looked over, she saw a concerned look on Hope's face. "You look really tired. Go to bed. I can handle this." _

_Lightning sat up, leaning off of the wall. "I'm almost done here. After I put Faith to sleep, there are still a few things I have to do and then I'll sleep." _

_The concern never left from off his face. "Have you been sleeping at all?" _

"_A little," the words slipped from her lips. It was the first answer that came to mind, but she knew if she told him it would only worry him more. _

_His eyes lowered. "I can tell. Seriously go. I'll take care of everything." _

_Lightning gave him a serious look. "I can handle it. I'm fine. Besides you have to leave early tomorrow. The Academy has been keeping you busy with this latest project they're doing." Hope's eyes stared toward the floor. It was true that he had to spend longer hours there with a shorter time to stay home and help. Lightning relaxed. Her expression softened. "It will only be for a short time right? Then you'll be right back here. You can help out then. You look tired yourself." _

_Hope looked down at her. "I know, but I don't like that you have to handle this by yourself." _

_She gave a faint, tired smile for comfort. "Not so much. You're still helping." Even though she smiled, he still didn't like the fact that he wasn't helping as much as he wanted to and that she was pushing herself. Lightning sighed and closed her eyes. She would wait a few more minutes before doing what she needed to next. _

_Suddenly she felt her hand being grabbed. Lightning lifted her eyes surprised. Above her, there was a serious look on Hope's face. "You're not helping yourself by not getting any sleep. I can handle this. Go to sleep." _

"_I told you that I'm fine," Lightning tried to assure him. _

_He held her hand within both of his. "Please go. If you go now, I won't argue with you about this." He smiled a little. "At least not for a while." He had to be honest. _

_Lightning gave a faint smirk. "Trying anything you can to get rid of me?" _

_Hope smiled as he nodded. "Yes."_

_Lightning closed her eyes. She knew that she wouldn't hear the end of it. "Fine." She stood up deciding to give in. Her eyes traveled over to him. "But first let me find a towel for Faith. After that, she's all yours." _

_They headed out of the door. Hope smiled toward her. "Thank you." _

_While they were out of the room, Faith looked over curious as she stopped playing with her floating toys. Nearby she spotted a black cord near the edge. She reached over as best she could and managed to grab onto the cord. It was a struggle since the cord was plugged into the wall. She pulled at the cord more wondering what it was. More and more, the small hair dryer attached to the cord moved closer toward her. _

"_It's no big deal. I'm fine and I can handle this for a few more days while you're gone." On Lightning's arm, there was a blue towel for Faith. She looked over at Hope. "I don't need help." _

"_If you're sure," Hope replied. Even though he knew she could handle things, he still wanted to help. _

_Lightning looked forward. "Faith-." Instantly she stopped as her eyes narrowed. Hope had done the same thing. "Faith stop!" Lightning warned her as she raised her voice. They rushed over. She grabbed Faith from the water while Hope took away the hair dryer that she was pulling on. Lightning wrapped her arms around Faith with a hand on the back of her head. Like Hope, she was getting over her fear of what could have happened. _

_A few minutes later, Hope stepped into their bedroom where Lightning was sitting on the edge of the bed. She was staring toward the floor feeling uneasy. She didn't lift her eyes to him. "I didn't remember putting that there." _

_Hope sat down beside her. His hand rubbed against her back as he tried to comfort her. "It's all right. She's okay. We got there in time. Right now she's sleeping." _

_Lightning closed her eyes. Her mind still couldn't help but picture what could've happened. "Yeah, but something serious could have happened. She could have ended up in the hospital or worse." _

"_Hmm…" An idea came to Hope's mind. Soon he turned his attention back to Lightning. "There's no need to worry now. Let's get some sleep." _

_Lightning's eyes lowered. She wasn't sure if she could after what almost happened._

* * *

_The next morning, the sun was shining through the window of their bedroom. Slowly Lightning opened her eyes. Beside her, she felt warmth as she was leaning against something smooth and hard. It was a familiar feeling. She lifted her head. Through her tiredness, she became surprised. "Hope? What are you still doing here?" Already he was awake with his head leaning on top of hers. After hearing her voice, his eyes traveled down to her. She leaned up on her elbow. "You're supposed to be at the Academy. You're already late." _

_He gave a small smile. "No I'm not." _

_Confusion became written on her face. "What are you talking about? I thought-." _

_Hope relaxed against her as he closed his eyes. "Not anymore. I called in today and said that I couldn't come in. I'll be working from home a few days. I'm perfectly capable of running things from here." _

_Lightning was surprised by the news he had given her. Shortly after getting over her surprise, a serious look came on her face. "You should go. You don't have to stay here just because of what happened." _

_He smiled down at her. "I thought that you would be happy to have me here." He sighed with his eyes closed. "I guess not…" He sat up from where he was laying. _

"_It's not that," Lightning replied. "If you're just staying here because you don't think I can handle-." _

_Hope kept his back turned from her. "It's not that I don't think you can handle things. I just don't want you to push yourself any harder. I don't want you to end up in a hospital." _

_Lightning leaned her head against her hand as her elbow pressed into the mattress. "It won't get that bad. I can take care of myself." _

_Hope smiled at her. "And I don't doubt that for a second either, but isn't it nice when you have someone else looking out of for you?" Lightning lowered her eyes toward the bed. She wasn't sure what answer she wanted to give. While she had liked to do some things on her own, she had to admit sometimes it was nice when he helped. Hope stood up. "Do you want anything while I'm up?"_

_Lightning took the covers from off of her body and proceeded to get up. "It's okay. I'll see what we have for breakfast." _

_Then she reacted surprised when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It felt as if she was going in reverse. Hope placed the covers back over her and guided her back down. There was a clear, caring smile on his face. "You aren't getting up just yet. You still have some sleep to catch up on. That was the point of me staying here." _

"_But I'm not tired," she told him. _

"_Whether you are now or not, take a few days for yourself. I can handle things from here on out," he assured her. _

_Lightning looked surprised. "You're going to do everything?" _

_Hope nodded. "Yes." _

_Lightning crossed her arms as she arched her eyebrow and leaned her back against her pillow sitting up a little. "And that includes feeding Faith?" _

_Nervously he smiled. He hadn't thought of that yet. "Well I might need your help for that seeing as she still gets her source of milk from you. Regardless, I'll take care of everything and you get to relax. By the time I go back to the Academy, you should be well rested." _

_Lightning thought about all the work that he would be doing at home and how it could it affect him. "But what about you? Won't you be tired?" _

"_I'll be fine. I won't fall far behind as long as I work here," he assured her. _

_Lightning felt a little uneasy about letting him take care of everything along with his work."If you say so. We'll see how much you can get done here." _

"_I'll be back soon." Afterwards Hope headed out of the door. Lightning sat in silence wondering if it was the best idea to let him take over. He could just as easily get exhausted as she was with taking care of Faith and other things around the house. Trusting that he could handle himself, she lied down on her side and closed her eyes. It didn't take long to fall right back asleep. _

_Time had slipped from underneath her. Suddenly she felt a slight shake on her body and a murmuring voice. As she began to regain consciousness, there were different aromas hitting her nose all at once. When she opened her eyes, she saw a tray of food in front of her with steam rolling off of the color filled plate. Surprised, she sat on her elbow. Her eyes traveled over to Hope sitting behind her. "You made breakfast?" _

_Hope gave a gentle smile. "Yeah. When I came back up here earlier, you were right back asleep so I waited a little. I can't let you sleep all day without eating anything." _

_Lightning grabbed a fork and took a bite. "How long was a little?" _

_Hope started to stand from the bed. "About an hour." _

_It made her a little surprised to hear that. She didn't even remember falling back asleep. Her eyes followed him as he walked around the bed. "I was asleep that long?" _

"_Yeah," Hope answered. It felt like a short time that she was asleep. Lightning sat up in her bed and placed the tray on her lap. When she lifted her eyes, she saw that Hope was heading toward the door. "You're not staying?" _

_Hope looked back at her and smiled. "It's your day off so you should relax." Afterwards he left from the room. _

_As Lightning continued eating in and listening to the television that she had on in the background, a sense of loneliness began to set in. She wasn't used to it being this quiet unless Faith was sleeping and Hope was at the Academy at the same time. Suddenly, she saw something slid in beside her. When she looked over toward the edge of the bed, she saw a flower. At first she became curious, but then looked further along the side of the bed on the floor. She saw the little messenger that had placed the flower there. A faint smile came on her lips and picked her up off of the ground. She sat Faith in front of her. "Where did you come from?" Soon, she lifted her eyes and looked toward the open door. She noticed something near the doorway. Outside of the door, Hope was kneeling down as he smiled. He gave himself a mental, happy yes for how well things worked out just like he planned. Lightning closed her eyes as she kept her smile on. "You can come out now. I know you're there." _

_Hope rose up and stepped in the doorway. "How did you know I was there?" _

_Lightning returned her attention to Faith and held up her arms playing with her a little. "Because I know that this one can't get up the stairs by herself." _

_Hope smiled and sat on the bed beside her. "I guess you caught me." _

_Lightning looked over at him. "What brings you two up here?" _

"_We wanted to keep you company before you took a break for the day," Hope replied. _

_Lightning's lips curved up into a smile. It seems that he read her feelings without a hint of knowing. When she looked over, she saw Faith reached over and grabbed a fist full of food. She placed her fist to her mouth as she started eating. Lightning wiped whatever was left on the side of her cheek as she smiled. "Who said that you could take food off of my plate?" _

_Hope looked at Faith as he smiled. "I just fed her not too long enough." _

_Lightning's eyes traveled over to Hope. "You must not have fed her enough." _

_Hope lifted his eyes to Lightning a little surprised. "You would be surprised with how much she ate. Almost as much as you have." Lightning became surprised too. She felt she had a plate big enough for an adult. Hope reached over and began eating off of her plate as well. She crossed her arms as she frowned a little. "And who said that you could eat off of my plate? Didn't have enough to eat either?" _

_He smiled. "It's not that. I just wanted to see your reaction." _

_Lightning let out a sigh. "I didn't even get a chance to eat half." Hope closed his eyes as he grinned. Lightning shook her head and returned her attention to Faith who was still eating. Regardless of how much they ate, it was nice having them there. They kept her company until she finished eating. _

_After a few minutes, Hope stood up from the bed. He held out his hands toward Faith. "Time to go. Let's let your mom rest." _

_Lightning lifted her eyes up to him. It felt like a short time of them staying with her. She didn't want him to leave because he felt he had to for her. "You don't have to go you know." _

_Hope smiled a little. "I know, but this is supposed to be your day off and I still have a lot of work to get done while I'm here." _

_Lightning noticed that Faith who was lying down beside her was starting to fall asleep. Her eyes were barely open. She turned her attention back to Hope. "You can leave her here. She looks like she's about to fall asleep anyway." _

_Hope nodded. "All right then. Sleep well." He leaned in and pressed a kiss against her cheek. Lightning watched as he left from the room. Afterwards, she lied down next to Faith. Like Faith, it didn't take long to fall back asleep._

_Later when Lightning opened her eyes again, she saw that the golden glow from the sun through the window had turned orange. When she looked over at the clock, she realized that she had been asleep for hours. More than she expected to sleep. Maybe all of the things she was doing at home had worn her out more than she realized. Her eyes traveled down toward the bed and saw that Faith was gone. At first it concerned her since she didn't know what happened, but she figured that Hope must've taken her so that she could sleep peacefully. A few minutes later of lying down, a sudden smell had crossed over her nose. The scent seemed familiar, but she just couldn't place her finger on it. Whatever it was, it was calling out to her stomach and for that, she would find out what it was. She traveled downstairs and stepped into the kitchen. Confusion became written on her face. "What's going on here?" _

_Hope was standing near the stove as Faith was sitting on the counter beside him with a grin on her face. "Mommy!" She looked over at Hope as she pointed forward. "Daddy! Mommy here!" _

_Hope smiled at her before he looked back at Lightning. "Hey! You're awake. You slept for a long time. I actually thought that you were going to sleep for the rest of the day." _

_Lightning walked over and gently pressed her finger against Faith's forehead making it tilt back. In response, Faith let out a laugh. "And what are you up to?" _

_Hope's eyes traveled over to Faith. "She's helping me to cook. She actually volunteered to." _

_Lightning was a little surprised, but then another thought came to mind. She lifted her eyes to Hope."So no take out this time?" _

_Hope turned his attention back to the food cooking. "Well it's been a while since I've made anything and its best not to get rusty. Besides, I used to cook like this for us and myself even when we weren't living together." _

_Lightning crossed her arms as she leaned her back against the counter. "Right. I guess that was a part of your plan. Keep me here with you with food so that I wouldn't leave." _

_A laugh escaped from his lips. "This is something that I thought that you might like. Sit for a second." _

_Lightning listened and sat down at the table. Soon a bowl was placed in front of her with steam coming off of the beef and vegetables that were inside. Once she took a bite, she instantly reacted with surprise. "Whoa." _

_Hope sat Faith down in her chair with the food that he had for her. He sat down next to Lightning interested in getting her opinion. "So what do you think?" _

_She kept a little surprise leftover on her face. "It's… really good. What did you do to it?" _

_Hope smiled. "Just added something different to the recipe. You really like it?" _

_Lightning took another bite. "Yeah." Afterwards, she gave him a faint smile. "Maybe you should stay here and do all the house stuff while I take over the world Director." _

_Hope shook his head as he kept his smile on. "I don't know. I would be afraid for the world. It might turn into a dictatorship under you." _

_Lightning frowned and pushed him back in his chair with her hand on his chest. "I'm not that bad." _

_A small chuckle escaped from his lips. "I was just kidding you know. You could take over if you want and you would be good at it." _

_Lightning sighed with her eyes closed. "Probably not." Then she turned her eyes over to him. "I would have to learn everything that you do." _

_Hope leaned his elbow against the table as he smiled a little. "It's never too late to learn. I could teach you anything you want." _

_Lightning gave a slight smirk as his offer reminded her of something. "So instead of me being your teacher like before you would be mine?" _

"_I would think so," Hope answered. _

_Lightning poked him in the chest with her index finger. "Unlike you, I'll be able to pay attention and I don't expect any special treat Mr. Estheim." _

_Hope mirrored her faint smirk. "I wouldn't expect it any other way Ms. Farron." _

"_So? What's the first lesson?" Lightning asked, interested. Hope leaned in close to her face and kissed her lips. A sly smile came upon her lips. "I think I've already passed that. Is that all you have for me? Aren't you going to teach me about anything you do?" _

_Hope smiled as he looked up into her eyes. "Oh this isn't the lesson. You need a special acceptation into my class." _

_Lightning arched her eyebrow. "But I'm the only one in it. I thought that teachers and students were supposed to keep things professional." _

_Hope shrugged a little. "Technically the class hasn't begun yet so I just wanted to get a few things out of the way first." _

_Lightning leaned her arms against the table crossed as she kept her faint smirk on. "Getting it all of your system now aren't you?" _

"_It's going to be hard, but I think I can manage." They both leaned in and pressed their lips together in a sensual kiss. It became tempting to __just __skip over dinner and spend some time alone together until something reminded them that they couldn't just yet. Hope felt something soft hit the side of his face. When they looked over, they saw Faith making a mess of her food and spreading it everywhere around her. Hope looked over at Faith as he smiled nervously. "She sure knows how to make a mess." _

_Lightning leaned back in her chair as she placed her crossed arms against her stomach. "Well you told me not to do anything about it." _

_Hope looked over at her. "I got it. You should eat before your food gets cold." A faint smirk crossed his lips. "We'll discuss more about this later." Lightning gave a faint smirk at the thought and continued eating. _

_Later, Lightning was lying in bed as she had her eyes closed. During the night, she woke up. When she became in tune with her surroundings, she realized that she was sleeping alone. Her eyes traveled over to the clock on her desk. The clear red lines read 1:15. Her eyes lowered. The bed around her felt empty. She figured that Hope was working late because of all of the things that he had been helping with. She thought about checking on him and making sure that he wasn't overworking himself, but then decided that he could handle himself and hoped that he would return soon for sleep. After a few minutes, she drifted back to sleep. Sometime later, she felt something move beside her. Drowsy, she opened her eyes a little. Instantly her eyes read the clock that displayed 4:00. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," a voice whispered beside her. Arms wrapped around her as a head leaned against her shoulder. Too tired to respond, she instinctively wrapped herself around the warmth that was pressing against her. She returned back into a deep sleep._

_The next day, Lightning opened her eyes and saw that it was 12:29 in the afternoon. She was surprised by how long she slept again. She looked behind her and saw that the only person there was her. She wasn't sure if Hope had returned back last night or not. A few minutes later, she traveled downstairs and saw that Hope was typing on his computer as Faith was sitting on the floor playing a little with her toys. She seemed a little uninterested with them. Lightning picked her up from off the floor and sat down next to Hope as she placed Faith on her lap to sit. "What are you doing?" _

_Hope looked over surprised. "Light! I didn't see when you came in." He turned his attention back to his computer. "I'm just catching up on work from the Academy." _

_Lightning looked curious. "Did you sleep at all?" _

_He became a little surprised that she asked that. "Yeah. I thought I woke you when I came in last night." _

_When she thought back, all she could remember was sleeping. "I don't really remember." _

_Hope smiled a little. "You must've been out of it. I came in. Well it was early this morning." _

_Lightning thought about it a little more as her eyes drifted down. She did remember waking up a few times during the night. "I think I'm starting to remember. Wasn't it really late?" _

_Hope glanced at her before he looked over at his computer and started typing. "Yeah. I got in close to four in the morning." _

_Lightning was surprised to hear that. "That's really late for you and you're up now." Soon her expression changed to serious. "Are you sure you're getting enough sleep? I don't need you passing out." _

_Hope smiled to assure her. "Don't worry about me." _

_Lightning was still a little concerned over him. "I can take over from here." On her face, she showed how serious she was. _

_He placed his hand on top of hers. "No. I said that I would give you a few days and that's what I'm going to do. I don't want you to get tired as you have been." _

_Lightning let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. When she looked down, she saw that Faith was lying against her quietly with her head against her chest. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping. She became curious. "What did you do to tire this one __out__?" _

_Hope kept typing on his computer. "Nothing much. I've just been up with her all morning. She's been quiet a few times." Then he felt something lean against his shoulder. His eyes traveled over to see Lightning leaning her head against him. Things had turned silent between them. He wasn't sure if she was still tired herself, but continued to work in silence as she watched. _

* * *

_As morning came around the next day, Lightning opened her eyes to see the sunlight shining in through the room. When she looked over next to her, a smile came on her lips. Beside her sleeping was Faith in the center and Hope beside her. They were both lying the same way on their backs and arms up beside their heads. It was cute to see them sleeping the same way. Not wanting to wake them, she quietly slipped out of bed and left the room. _

_Outside, a loud shout escaped from Lightning as her gunblade collided with a thick wooden pole standing straight up. The metal had left a dent in the wood. Behind the house, she took the time to practice so that she could keep up her skills. As she was breathing hard, she leaned forward with her hands on her knees. "This is taking a lot more out of me than I thought," she thought. After catching her breath, she stood up straight and lifted her eyes a little toward the sky. "I guess when I stop doing this for three years and had Faith, it has slowed me down," she told herself in her mind. Once she felt she was rested enough, she rushed back toward the target as she got ready to attack. _

_Inside of his office within the house, Hope was sitting at his desk in front of his computer working. He rested the side of his head on the back of his hand as his eyes scanned across the screen. Behind him, Faith was sitting on the floor. Her small hand picked up a square block and looked at it. Uninterested, she put it back on the floor and then lifted her emerald eyes. As Hope had his attention on his computer, he suddenly felt something on his leg. When he lowered his eyes, he saw Faith staring at him with her hands on his leg. He gave a gentle smile and picked her up off of the ground. He placed her on his lap. "Hey!" His eyes traveled back toward the floor at her toys on the ground. "You've been quiet over there. It doesn't seem like you've played with your toys at all." With that observation, his mind started to get more lost in thought. His lips leaned against his curled index finger. "In fact, you seem like you haven't wanted to play with them since I've been home." He turned his attention back to Faith. "You don't want to play with them anymore?" Faith shook her head. Hope looked a little surprised. "Really?" _

"_No…!" Faith answered. _

_Hope's eyes drifted to the side toward the floor. "You are getting tired of them. It might be time for some new ones." He turned his head to her and smiled. "Would you like to get a new toy?" A grin came on Faith's lips. He noticed her reaction and grinned as well. "Would you like a new one? Something that you would really like?" Faith nodded several times as she kept her grin on. Hope placed his hand on top of her head. "Then we'll start looking for one." Faith clapped her hands together as she bounced a few times. She gave a huge smile. Watching her excitement had made Hope happy. Faith stood up and wrapped her arms as much as she could around his neck. Hope was surprised by her sudden reaction, but it didn't lessen his smile. "Wow! I didn't know it would make you this happy. What do you say?" Faith smiled at him and sat down on his leg. Hope looked down at her. "Thank…you…" he pronounced for her slowly. _

_Faith's eyes traveled down as she placed her fingers in her lips. "Tha-Thank… you…daddy..." _

_Hope smiled glad that she was able to catch on. It was helping her speech. "Good Faith." He turned his attention back to his computer. "We'll look for one right after I finish this." On his screen, he pulled up a map. His eyes scanned across the screen. "Now where was I? Right. I was looking for where the river was on this map." Faith pointed forward. Hope noticed and became surprised. "Faith? You know where the water is?" Faith stood up and placed her finger to the screen. She pointed to where the blue was. Hope was amazed. He wondered how she knew that. "Wow! That's right." A smile crossed his lips as Faith sat back down on his lap. "That was very impressive." He placed his hand on her head. "You're really smart. Keep it up and maybe one day you'll be a scientist working at the Academy." _

_Faith grinned. She placed her fingers into her mouth as she turned her attention back to the screen. She pointed toward the screen again. Hope leaned forward toward her as he smiled and kept his eyes to the screen. "What else do you see?" Faith began talking more. Most of the words she spoke he could understand. He grinned as he heard her speak. It didn't seem like too long ago when she couldn't speak at all, but now she was trying to lecture him on science. Her words were developing faster than he had expected. Mentally he noted it as something to speak with Lightning later about. _

_Later, things had turned quiet. Hope was still working on his computer. Against his stomach, Faith was sleeping. Slowly, she had tired herself out from spending time with him and drifted into sleep. While he was working, an alert sound came up on his computer. He became surprised, but then recognized what it was. He clicked on a icon on his computer and soon an older man with white hair came up on his computer in a window. His composure was businesslike and stern. "Hello Director." _

_Hope's expression had changed to serious and professional. "Hello executive." _

"_I hope that this is a good time for you. I informed your assistant that I needed to speak to you," the man spoke. _

"_Yes. He informed me a while ago that you would be calling. What can I do for you?" Hope wondered what the meeting was about. _

_The man looked serious as he began to get to the point of what he wanted to speak to Hope about. "We heard that you were spending a few days at home to work. We were wondering if it would be possible for you to come out to speak with my group and I soon. We wanted to discuss further about the project personally. There are a few things we would like explained." _

_As the two men spoke, Faith began to stir. Slowly she started to wake up hearing the sounds above her. Hope became curious. "Sure. Where did you plan on meeting and when?" Then, Hope looked a little surprised. Faith stood up on her feet in his chair. _

_The stern expression that seemed etched into the man's face had lifted and changed into surprise. He thought that Hope was alone. "Now who do we have here?" he asked interested. _

_Hope smiled as he looked over. "Sorry about that. I thought she was sleeping." _

_The man was curious. "It's all right. Who's this little one?" _

_Hope wrapped his arm around Faith who looked curious, but a little concerned about the stranger on the screen. "This is my daughter Faith." _

_The introduction surprised the man. "Really…? I didn't know that you had a daughter." _

_Hope smiled as he kept his eyes to Faith. "Yes." The man was still left stunned. Curiously, Faith leaned forward on the desk and poked her hand at the screen. She wondered where the mysterious man came from. Hope grinned silently and pulled Faith away. "Sorry about that." _

_The man watched as the two interacted with each other. They had seemed so natural and happy as a father and daughter. "It's all right." _

_Hope turned his attention back to the man in front of him. "So where did you want to meet?" _

_The man regained his businesslike composure, focusing on the reason he contacted Hope. "Right now my colleagues and I are not in Academia and we're not sure when we'll be able to travel back there. We were wondering if you could meet us in New Palumpolum." _

_Hope was surprised by the request. It was a far way off. "When were you planning on holding these meetings?" _

"_We were hoping that you could meet us two days from now." Hope's eyes traveled down as the man continued speaking. "We know that you want to get this project done as soon as possible. Will that be a problem?" _

_Hope lifted his eyes to the man after coming to a decision. "No. I'll meet you in New Palumpolum." _

"_We want to meet that morning if that's all right?" the man asked wondering if that would be a problem for him. _

"_That's fine," Hope replied. _

_The man gave a serious stare. "Then we look forward to seeing you. We'll send further details about where to meet later on." _

"_All right." Soon, the man on the screen disappeared. Hope closed his eyes as he let out a sigh. His eyes lowered to Faith and grabbed onto her small hands. He gave a smile of disappointment. "Sorry Faith. Looks like I won't be able to stay with you as long as I wanted to, but hopefully after this project is over, I'll be able to spend more time here." He breathed out as he leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. He wanted to tell the man that he couldn't meet yet and to give himself more time at home since he told Lightning that he would stay for a few more days plus he liked staying at home, but he didn't want to risk losing business on the project he was working on. As he sat in silence, a thought crossed his mind. His eyes returned to Faith as he smiled a little. He wouldn't let this bring him down. "Hey! Let's get out of here. You must be as bored as I am sitting in here." _

_Later, Lightning stepped out of the bathroom into her bedroom. She rubbed a towel that was wrapped around her shoulders against her hair as she closed her eyes. She was already dressed shortly after her shower. Once she was done, she began to wonder where Hope and Faith were. She searched for them upstairs. She checked Faith's room and then Hope's office, but couldn't find them. Finally she headed downstairs. _

_In the living room, Hope was playing with Faith. "Ready?" He tossed her up into the air which she laughed and he caught her. Nearby, a smile formed on Lightning's lips as she watched them quietly. He lied back on the floor while still keeping her held up in the air. As she was laughing, she looked down at him. He placed her sitting on his stomach. Her fingers had touched his nose. Soon she lifted her eyes and looked surprised. She slid off of him and stood up. Hope was surprised to see her walking off without a word. Before he could ask, he heard Faith speak. "Mommy." He was surprised. Was Lightning already there? _

_Lightning kneeled down to Faith as Faith approached her. Lightning greeted her with a smile. She picked up Faith and walked over to Hope. Hope tilted his head back as he tried to see them. Lightning came over him. "Having fun down there?" Faith leaned forward which caused an idea to cross over Lightning's mind. She let Faith lean upside down as she looked Hope. The weird view of him had made her giggle. She reached down and touched his face. _

_As Hope had his attention on Faith, he spoke to Lightning. "I haven't seen you all day. When we woke up, you were gone." He sat up as Lightning sat down with Faith in front of him. _

_Her eyes met with his as she held onto Faith's arm. "I was just practicing fighting outside since it's been a while and I took a shower afterwards."_

_Hope smiled a little. The same thought crossed his mind from earlier. "I sort of have some bad news." _

_Lightning looked curious. He seemed disappointed about something. "What is it? Is there something wrong?" _

"_No. No. Nothing like that. I guess my stay here just got shortened. One of people funding the current project I'm working on called. He wants to meet with me personally in New Palumpolum in a few days," Hope explained. _

_Lightning was a little surprised. "Oh." _

_Hope's eyes lowered. "I know I said that I would stay with you and help out. Maybe I should-." _

"_It's okay." Lightning placed her hand on his shoulder comforting. His eyes lifted up to her. "I know how much you've been working on this and you don't need anything to ruin it. I appreciate what you've done to help around here, but you can go now." _

_Hope smiled a little. "You wouldn't have ruined it. I wanted to help you and it was nice being here with you guys. I wish I was here more often." _

"_I see. Being here hasn't driven you crazy yet," Lightning replied. _

_Hope smiled. "Of course not! It's been fun while I was here." _

_Lightning gave a faint smile. "That's good." _

_Hope relaxed a little. "For now, I just want to have fun here before I have to leave." _

_Lightning leaned against the couch as she looked interested. "What did you have in mind?" _

_Hope leaned in beside her. He lifted his eyes up as he was thinking. "I'm not sure yet." As Lightning watched him, an idea came to mind. She leaned in toward Faith who looked curious and whispered something. Hope noticed. "Hey. What are you saying to her?" _

_A faint smirk came to Lightning's lips as her eyes traveled over to him. "Nothing much." _

_Faith went over to him as she grinned and tried to tickle his stomach. Hope smiled at her. "What are you trying to do?" _

_Slightly, Lightning shook her head. "That's not the way you do it Faith. You have to try this way." Lightning reached over and poked his side. _

_Hope laughed a little. "Wait! Don't-." Lightning wouldn't stop. She continued to poke and tickle him as Faith joined in. Hope couldn't help but laugh. He fell down to the floor as Lightning and Faith pinned him down. "It's not fair! You two can't just team up on me!" _

"_We're allowed to." Lightning looked over at Faith. "Right Faith?" Faith grinned. As Hope kept laughing, Lightning couldn't help but smile. It was nice that they were having fun. _

_Later that night, Hope and Lightning were lying on their sides in front of each other in their bed. The only light that lit up the room was the light from the moon outside. They leaned in close letting their lips meet on and off. Neither one of them were in a rush to go to sleep right away. A smile appeared on his lips as she looked curious. "Shouldn't you be going to sleep by now?" she asked. _

"_Maybe in a few minutes, but for now…" Hope moved in and kissed her again. He leaned more toward her as she turned on her back. His lips moved from her cheek down to her neck. The ticklish feeling caused a smile to seep through her lips. It wasn't long before she felt his lips against her stomach. _

_Her eyes traveled down to him. "What are you doing?" _

_All he gave her was a smile. He placed a few kisses on her stomach before leaning over her again on his hands and knees. Before he could continue, they heard a familiar voice. "Mommy!" _

_Lightning breathed out. "Well at least she's calling for me now rather than crying for me." Playfully, she pushed Hope aside which his body dropped down on the bed. She sat up with her fingers on the edge of the bed. "Since she woke up, she must be getting scared of the dark again on her own. That's something she has to get over."_

_Hope leaned his head on his hand as his elbow was pressed into the mattress. "Why don't you bring her in here to sleep?" _

_Lightning crossed her arms as she looked at him. The way he acted toward her just a minute ago, she thought that he had something else on his mind. "Really?" _

_Hope smiled. "Sure. I don't mind." _

_Lightning decided not to question it any further and left from the room. A couple of minutes later she returned with Faith in her arms. She let her crawl on the bed where Hope was. Lightning looked down at her serious. "We're not letting you turn this into a habit." _

_Hope smiled at Lightning. "She's still young. I'm sure that it will be okay." _

_Lightning placed her hand on her hip. "You say that now, but just wait. She'll be sleeping in our bed until she's thirteen." Beside him, Hope felt as Faith curled up next to him with her eyes closed. He was a little surprised, but then smiled. He wrapped his arm around her. Lightning sat down next to them. "She calls for me to come get her and then she curls up next to you? I see how it is now." _

_Hope smiled as he looked up at Lightning. "Maybe she just likes me more," he joked. _

_Lightning lied down next to him. "Yeah right. I'm the one who's here all of the time." _

_Then a thought had crossed his mind. "Oh right! There was something that I wanted to mention to you earlier." _

_Lightning became curious. "What's that?" _

_He smiled as he thought back. "I have to say that I'm surprised with what happened today. I was working and looking over a map. I said out loud that I was looking for one of the rivers on it and Faith automatically points to it." _

_Lightning was surprised to learn that. "Really?" _

"_I didn't tell or show her where it was either. She just knew and then she started talking to me like she was trying to explain things to me," Hope told her. _

_Lightning looked down at Faith amazed. "I guess she is getting to be a little chatterbox." _

_Hope looked down at Faith as well. "She's picking up on things faster. I wonder how much. It would be nice to tell how smart she is right now." _

_Lightning glanced at Faith before she lifted her eyes to Hope. "What? You think that she could be a little genius?" _

_He looked over at her with a hopeful smile. "It is possible." _

_Lightning thought about it for a little. "It would be a little surprising, but not so much when you think about it. She could've gotten her smarts from you." _

"_And from you as well. What you teach her builds on the foundation of how she will learn. Maybe you taught her more than you realize and in result, that's increasing her intelligence," Hope explained. Lightning gave a faint smile. It sounded like he was commending her on Faith getting smarter. As he looked over at Lightning, he gently smiled. "This is nice having all three of us here together." A gentle smile appeared on Lightning. It seemed that he was happier having his family there than it just being the two of them._

_The next day, Hope headed toward the door with suitcases in hand. He sat them down on the floor and turned as he smiled toward the two following behind him. "I'm off. I better catch the ship before it takes off. I wished that I could've stayed longer." _

"_It's okay. It was nice having you around for a few days." Lightning turned her attention to Faith. "Right?" Faith just looked at her curious. _

_Hope smiled. "I guess I'll just take that as a yes." _

_Lightning placed her hand on her hip as she gave him a serious look. "Just make sure to call so I know you're still alive." _

_Hope grinned at the way she said it. He leaned in and pressed his lips against Lightning's. As the two kissed, Faith watched as she seemed curious. Her fingers reached over and poked his cheek. He laughed a little at the ticklish sensation. Once he separated from Lightning, he placed his hand on the back of Faith's head and tilted her head a little. He placed a quick kiss on her forehead. Afterwards, he smiled. "I will let you know when I make it there. Alive. I'll be back in a few days. See you then." _

_Lightning and Faith watched as he left. "Bye." Lightning leaned her hand on the door and closed it. She soon turned her attention to Faith who looked at her. "I guess it's just us again."_

_As sunset came upon the city of New Palumpolum, Hope checked into his hotel room and went inside of the room that he had. It had a set up with a big bed, television, and other things to make him comfortable. He looked around before he sat down on his bed. He did as Lightning asked and called to let her know that he had made it safely. It wasn't long before night came around and he had settled in tired from the hours of traveling. _

* * *

_Thank you for reading! I'll be back to update! _


	5. Away From Home

_**Author's Notes:** Sorry about the late update! I was hoping to update this sooner. Thank you for sending in reviews and adding this to your alerts! I hope that you'll like the next chapter of the story!_

* * *

_Chapter 5: Away From Home:  
_

_Call Night__ Zero:_

_As night was over New Palumpolum, Hope lied in his bed underneath the covers just in his boxers. Throughout the day, he spoke with the executives that wanted to meet with him and got some progress done on the project he was working on. Things had calmed down, but now it was too quiet around. By now, he would have been home. Because of that, he wasn't used to the lingering silence. He sat up, unable to sleep and gazed out toward his window. There were bright lights that lit up the city from where he was high up in the hotel. It was a beautiful sight truly, but a part of him wasn't excited to see them. The only place his mind could travel back to was home. He returned to lying on his back as he stared up. It was still hard to fall asleep. His arm stretched across the mattress. The other side of the bed next to him felt cold and empty. He had gotten so used to Lightning sleeping beside him that it felt strange that she wasn't there. As he lied there, more he began to wonder why there was a bit of sadness dwelling inside him. _

_Finally, he came to one conclusion: he was homesick. Even though he had only been home for a few days, he had fun while he was there, playing around and spending time with Lightning and Faith. A few times during the day, they had crossed his mind and he wondered what they were doing, but tonight that was all he could think about. _

_An idea came to mind. His eyes glanced at the clock in his room before looking over toward his phone. His hand grabbed onto it. His eyes stared at it. He figured it was too late into the night to call, but a part of him still wanted to. Maybe if he were to hear her voice, it would put him at ease and help him to sleep. On his screen, he pulled up the phone number with Lightning's picture on it. Silently he laughed. As he looked at her picture, he remembered the day he took it. At first she refused to take it even with a lot of discussion or really pleading from him, but she wouldn't budge. Finally, without her looking, he caught her attention after waking her from sleeping and managed to snap a picture of her while she was caught off guard. Afterwards, he played a game of keep away with her while she attempted to reach for it several times. Luckily for him, he was taller than she was. It took a few minutes, but they came to a compromise. She allowed him to keep the picture, __but__ he could show no one. If he did, there would be trouble or the risk of him never getting another picture of her again. Leaving his memory, his eyes traveled from her picture to the call button that was on the bottom of the screen. His finger hovered over it. He was tempted to press it, but didn't want to wake her just in case. It was a hard decision. _

_In Academia, Lightning was sitting up a little against her pillow. She couldn't go to sleep right away. Her eyes traveled beside her to see Faith lying asleep on her side. She was glad to see that she was asleep, but if they were going to wake up around the same time, she needed to go to sleep as well. Her eyes turned toward the other side to her phone sitting on her dresser. Her mind began to wonder. Could Hope still be awake? She thought with what he had to do, it was unlikely, but she thought calling him might help her sleep. Her fingers reached over and grabbed her phone. As she stared at it, in her mind, she thought that it was best to let him sleep. She went to his contact information to see the picture of him smiling. It had brought a faint smile to her. She looked down toward the call button on the bottom of the screen. Her finger hovered over it wondering if she should call him. Their conversation could be quick and just to see how he was doing. Still she wondered if that was a good idea. _

_Before she could press it, she heard a small voice beside her. "Mommy?"_

_Lightning's eyes traveled over to Faith. "What is it Faith?" She noticed Faith sitting up, fidgeting as she grabbed onto her shorts. She seemed as if she was in distress and anxious. "Go…" _

_Lightning understood what she meant and picked her up. She headed toward her bathroom. "I'm glad you told me instead of just going on my bed." Minutes later, they stepped out with Faith's hand in Lightning's. Lightning looked down at her. "Feel a lot better now?" _

_Faith smiled. "Yup!" Lightning let go of her hand and let her lift herself up and crawled back to her spot on the bed. Lightning moved in beside her. She noticed Faith go straight back to sleep without trying to stay up a little longer. Lightning remembered about the phone on her dresser and looked over at it. The screen had gone dark. Deciding to leave it alone, she changed it back to her home screen and turned on her side toward Faith. She closed her eyes and went to sleep along with Faith. Even though Hope was gone, it was nice having someone sleeping next to her. _

_In his room, Hope stared at his phone, but then decided that it was better to call another time and let them sleep. He placed his phone back on his dresser and lied down with his eyes closed._

_The next morning, Hope headed into the restaurant that was in the hotel. He sat at a round table alone. Last night he managed to fall asleep, but even his dreams spoke to him on how he was feeling inside. He dreamed that he was sleeping next to Lightning in a peaceful place on a bed. While it was nice to reflect on, he pushed the thought aside in his mind for now and opened his computer so that he could work a little before his next meeting. _

_Nearby in the kitchen, two waitresses and a waiter were looking across the restaurant. One of the waitresses with short, blonde hair looked over surprised. "Hey! Look over there. Isn't that the Director of the Academy?" _

_The other waitress who had brunette hair tied in a ponytail looked over surprised as well. "Really?" When she scanned across the room, she saw him sitting at the table alone working on his computer. She became interested as she smirked a little. "I wonder what he's doing here. This might be my chance to actually meet him." _

_The waiter shook his head as he smirked and placed his hand on his hip. "Really? You really think that that you stand a chance?" _

_The brunette waitress traveled over as she pouted and frowned. "Don't underestimate me. I can handle this. He may not be like one of the usual celebrities like a singer or athlete, but it's still something." Determined, she walked off. _

_The waiter shook his head. "Again trying to find rich guys to live the easy life. When will she learn?" The short, blonde waitress shook her head as she closed her eyes embarrassed and sighed. _

_As Hope was paying attention to his computer, the brunette waitress stepped over with a cheerful, sweet smile on her face. She opened a transparent screen that was close to her chest to a menu. "Good morning! Is there something that I can get you?" _

_Hope blinked surprised and lifted his eyes up to the smiling waitress."Oh! Um…?" His eyes scanned over the menu and then ordered. After she put in the order, she smiled. "Hey! Aren't you the Director of the Academy from Academia?" _

_Hope smiled toward her. "Yes." _

_She held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you. I read a lot about what you do." _

_Hope shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you as well." When the waitress looked over, she saw her friends waving anxiously for her to come back. She then turned her attention back to Hope. She did her best to keep her smile on, but wondered in her mind why they were rushing her back. "I have to go. I'll be back with your order. Again it was nice to meet you." She walked away. Hope soon turned his attention back to his computer, focused. _

_As the morning continued to pass, Hope finally turned his attention away from computer a little tired of working. His eyes traveled over to his phone lying on the table. He had been waiting for the executives to come in, but they hadn't shown up yet. When he looked at his screen on his phone, he saw the background picture of Lightning with her arms wrapped around Faith as they both were sitting on the floor in the living room. Faith was smiling as Lightning has her head tilted against Faith's with a faint smile. That was one picture that Lightning had let him take of her willingly. Seeing the picture had made his lips curve into a small smile. He was tempted to see how they were doing, but kept himself from doing so since the meeting could start at any moment now. _

"_Is there anything else that you need?" a voice asked from nearby. _

_Hope snapped out of his thoughts surprised and looked over. He recognized her as the same brunette waitress that had spoken to him before. Being lost in thought, he didn't catch her question. "What?" _

_The woman smiled sweetly. "I asked if there was anything else you needed." _

_He blinked surprised as he tried to focus on her question. "Oh! No thank you." _

_She gave a look of concern. "Are you okay? You look kind of sad like you need a friend." _

_Hope smiled a little. Inside, he was surprised over her concern. "I'm fine." _

_The woman was curious as to what he was looking at, but couldn't see his phone since his fingers were on the screen and it was slightly turned away from her. Her lips curved into a gentle smile, letting it go. "Sure it's not anything that I can help with?" _

_Hope smiled to assure her. "No, it's all right."_

_She held her hands together in front of her. "Well if you need someone to talk to, I get off-." _

"_Director Estheim," a voice called from nearby. Hope and the brunette waitress looked over curiously. The executives that came to meet him approached them. _

_Hope stood up as he looked serious. "Greetings." _

_The woman stood nearby, hoping to speak with Hope once more, but one of the men looked over toward her. "A coffee please." _

_The woman looked surprised, but then relaxed without getting upset. "Right. Coming right up." Soon she walked away and headed toward the counter where her friends were standing. _

_The waiter crossed his arms. "See. I told you. You couldn't get to him." _

_The brunette waitress became upset as she baled her fist. "I still have a chance." _

_The blonde waitress looked uneasy. "Maybe you should just leave this one alone..." _

_The waiter gave a dull stare. "He doesn't even notice you much less seem interested in you. He's been staring at his computer all morning and then that phone of his. Just stop before you get in trouble." _

_There was still a displeased look on the brunette woman's face. "How can I work my charm looking like this? This is not my best work." She looked determined at her friends. "I will get out of working in this dump." Her friends stared at her worried. They were afraid that something bad was going to happen if things went too far._

_Later that night, the brunette waitress walked through the kitchen changed out of her uniform into a form fitting, red dress. She stopped in front of her two friends that were still working. "I'm heading out of the night." _

_The blonde waitress waved her hand as she smiled tired. "All right. See ya." _

_The waiter with them had started pushing a cart full of food. The brunette woman became curious. "Hey! Where are you going with that? I thought that you were leaving too." _

_The waiter looked back at her. "Just making one last delivery. Then I'm done for tonight." _

_The brunette waitress arched her eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "Kind of late isn't it?" _

_The waiter started pushing the cart with the tray on it. "It's for the Director of the Academy. I guess whatever he was working on was running late or something." _

_The brunette waitress's eyes widened in surprised. Instantly she realized that this was her chance. Her hands grabbed onto the handles where the waiter's hands was and smiled at him. "I'll take it." _

_The waiter gave her a dull stare. "Just give it up already. He's not going to be interested." _

_The brunette waitress winked, confident. "As I said let me work my magic." The waiter sighed with his eyes closed. He was too tired to argue over it. He let his hands go off of the cart and let her take off with it. As long as it got delivered, his job was done. _

_Soon the blonde waitress stepped beside the taller waiter as she looked worried. "I really don't think that we should have let her go."_

_The waiter looked over at her curious. "Why do you say that? She'll just probably hear no finally." _

_The blonde waitress looked over at him worried. "Even so, you know how she is. She won't take no for an answer. I have a really bad feeling about this. Really bad." More, the waiter started to get concerned after hearing so. _

_Inside of his room, Hope was staring at his phone. Since he was done for today he thought that it would be a good time to call while it was still early. He was about to, but then heard a knock on his door. Curiously, he lifted his eyes. He went over to the door and opened it. The brunette waitress smiled at him. "Hello Director." _

_It took a few seconds, but then he remembered that he ordered room service for himself. "Hi. Thank you." He pointed near the dresser. "You can just put it over there." _

_The ___brunette waitress_ pulled the cart in. Hope returned back to his spot on the bed and sat down. He placed his phone back in his hand, turning his attention back to it. The waitress smiled at him. "Do you remember me from earlier?" _

_A look of confusion came on his face. "Um…? I'm sorry. Have we met?"  
_

_Inside she was disappointed that he didn't remember her, but kept her smile on. "Yes. I was the waitress that served you today." _

_A few seconds later he remembered. He looked a little surprised. "Oh! Right. It seems that you have been working all day." _

_She shrugged a little. "It's a living. Having a late night? It's a little late to be ordering from the kitchen." _

_Hope kept staring toward his phone. "Yeah." _

_The ___brunette waitress_ became curious as to what he was staring at. "You still seem to be down like earlier. Is there anything I can do to help? I'm off of my shift right now." _

_Hope thought that it was really kind of the woman to help out a stranger, but for now he wanted to be left alone. "I'm fine. Thank you for the offer, but you should probably getting home. It's getting late."_

_The waitress waved her hand a few times. "It's all right. I'm not really doing anything right now." A smiled crossed over her lips. "Hey! There's no reason to stay down. If there's something that will cheer you up, then you should just do it!" _

_Hope looked at her surprised. Her words did inspire him a little. His eyes traveled down as he smiled a little. "Thanks. That's really nice of you to say." He pressed a few buttons. He had planned on calling soon. _

_As the ___brunette waitress_ watched him, a smirked formed. Maybe now was the time to make her move. As he had his attention on his phone, he suddenly felt his phone drop once he felt his hands being grabbed. It fell down on the floor nearby his bed. On the other end, a voice spoke. "Hello?" _

_The waitress sat down on the edge of the bed as she smiled. "If you're feeling bad, I could help you cheer up."_

_Quickly Hope took his hands away as he started to feel on edge. "No thank you." _

_The ___brunette waitress_ gave off a seductive smile and look in her eye. She placed the tips of her fingers to her shoulder on her thin strap. "Are you sure? I have ways of cheering someone up."_

_Hope stood up as he held his hands up and looked serious. He kept some distance between them. "Listen. I don't know who you are, but I'm going to have to decline. __It's best that you leave now.__" _

_She smiled, curious. "And why?" _

_A frowned crossed over his lips. "I have a girlfriend at home." _

_She arched his eyebrow a little. "And are you happy with her? I could be your girlfriend and make you very happy in every way." _

_He wanted to make things clear to her in hopes that she would leave. "Yes I'm very happy with my girlfriend and I would like you to leave. Now." _

_Not ready to give up yet, she leaned forward toward him. "Come on." _

_Hope backed away more as he looked more upset. "Just go."_

_She stepped toward him. "No one would have to know." _

_Her finger reached out to touch him, but he stepped back as there was a clear display of anger. "No! Now leave!" _

_The waitress's lips curved into a frown as she was upset. It seemed that she was getting nowhere. "No one rejects me." Hope opened the door and walked out. It seemed that she wouldn't leave willingly so he had another idea of how to get her to leave without causing an altercation. She grabbed onto her bag, but ended up knocking it over, causing her stuff to fall out. The waitress looked upset. Her eyes lifted toward the door and saw that he was gone. "Hey!" _

_Soon her friends appeared along with two security guards. The guards stepped over toward her as they looked down at her serious. Her eyes traveled between her friends and the men that had surrounded her. "Hey!" She looked over toward her friends upset as she was escorted out of the room. "You guys!" _

_After she was removed, the waiter and blonde waitress bowed to Hope who stepped back inside with their hands in front of them. They didn't realize how far their friend would go and were worried. In time, they met him in the hall within a short distance of his room. After he explained the situation, they hurriedly got the guards to help. "We're sorry about this Director," they apologized in the end. _

_Hope went over to his phone and grabbed it off of the floor. He breathed out to calm himself. "It's all right." Then a look of surprise appeared on his face. He saw that his phone was still on. He didn't realize that he had someone on the line. He figured he must've pressed the call button when the ___brunette waitress_ knocked the phone out of his hand. He pressed it up to his ear. "Hello?" _

"_Hope! Are you all right?" the voice spoke on the other line anxious. _

_Instantly he recognized the voice and relaxed. "Yeah." _

_Then the security guards came back as they looked serious. "Director? Do you mind if we get a statement?" _

_The voice over the line overheard what the guards asked him and wanted to help. "Hope let me speak to them. I heard what happened." _

_Hope handed the phone to the one of the guards as he spoke to the other. As the interviews were in progress, the manager came up and asked what happened. The waiter and waitress explained the rest to him. The guard handed Hope back his phone. He pressed it up to his ear. "Hey." _

"_Hey," the voice responded. _

_Hope glanced over at the other people in the room while they were still discussing the situation. He wanted to listen to what they were talking about. "I'll call you back later after everything gets settled all right?" _

"..._Fine," the voice reluctantly agreed. Afterwards Hope hung up the phone. _

* * *

_Thank you for reading this chapter! Wanted to try something different with this one. I'll be back to update this!_


	6. Call Nights 1-2

_**Author's Notes:** Thank you for sending in reviews and adding this to your favorites and alerts! I appreciate the kind words! Hope that you'll like this chapter! _

* * *

_Chapter 6: Call Nights 1-2  
_

_Call Night One_

_Some time later, things had settled down from what happened earlier in the night. After Hope was left alone, he sat back on his bed relaxing somewhat. He grabbed onto his phone remembering to call back as soon as the situation was over. A few seconds later, he heard the same voice on the other line. "Hope?" _

_Hope's eyes lowered a little tired. "Yeah it's me." _

"_Is everything all right? What happened?" the voice asked concerned. _

_Hope leaned back more against his pillows as he placed his arm behind his head. "Everything's fine now. The woman__ was escorted out. __Two people who knew her had explained everything to me. It turns out that woman was desperate to find someone no matter what. It's sad that someone could dislike their life that much. I heard of things like this before where people would use other people just for their money. Even going as far as to have a child with them and take them for everything they have or even make up stories." He closed his eyes. "Things were never this bad in Academia." Nervously his eyes drifted toward the side. "Sorry I didn't call back sooner. I decided to grab food other than what was brought in. Just felt unsure about it." Then he noticed that there was silence on the other end. He was a little surprised. "Light? Are you still there?" _

_Sitting on her bed in Academia, Lightning had her arm crossed over her stomach as the other was bent up holding the phone to her ear. She had her eyes closed. Some of how angry she was showed through her expression. _

_Hope sat up as he started to get concerned. "Light are you okay?" _

"_Yeah. It's just… What kind of-?!" Her eyes traveled over to see that Faith was sleeping. Some of the harsh words she wanted to say that were in her mind was inappropriate for her to hear and didn't want her picking up on them just in case she was sleeping light enough to hear her. She breathed out and relaxed a little, telling herself in her mind that it was over now. "What kind of person would do that to another?" _

_Hope looked up a little. "I'm not sure." _

_Lightning's eyes drifted to the side. "I'm glad that you called me in time so that I could help. Maybe I should come out there and stay with you." _

_Nervously he smiled. While the offer was nice, he didn't want her to think that he needed to be constantly watched over because of one incident. "It's all right. Really. Everything is fine now. Besides, I've dealt with situations similar to this before where things have gotten heated. I'll be all right. Also, I don't want you to come down here angry. I would be afraid of what you would do." _

_She turned her head to the side upset. "The nerve of what she tried to do-." _

_"I know." __Hope knew what she meant and hoped that he could get her to calm down. _

_Lightning lifted her eyes a little, thinking. "You should still have someone watch over you so nothing like this happens again." _

"_I'm not a child you know?" he reminded her jokingly, hoping to ease her. _

_Lightning still felt uneasy as her eyes drifted to the side. "You know what I mean." _

_He smiled a little. "I know. Security like in Academia. Really I'm fine now and one good thing came out of it." _

_"How could anything good come out of this?" __She didn't understand what he meant by that.  
_

"_The manager of the hotel was so worried that this would ruin the reputation of the hotel and that I would bring up something against them that we got a free stay here next time if we decide to come." Lightning closed her eyes wondering if that was good thing. Since she was silent, he wondered how she was feeling. "Are you still upset?" _

_Her eyes drifted to the side. "No." _

_He smiled a little. "I'm guessing if I saw your face right now it would say differently." _

_Lightning didn't want him to know that he was right so she was glad that he couldn't see that he was. "Well you can't." _

_Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind once she said that. "Actually I can. There's a camera on my phone and there's one on yours as well. We can talk to each other that way." After explaining what to do, Hope saw her face on the screen and on Lightning's screen she saw his face. He smiled once he saw her. "Hi!" _

_There was a serious look on her face. Her eyes drifted toward the side. "Hey." Before he could speak, she went ahead of him. Her eyes turned back to him. "Just in case, check your room to make sure that she didn't leave anything behind." _

"_All right." He didn't think it was necessary, but he decided to check since he knew she wouldn't let it go. Along with him, she was able to search around his room even to places where he told her that the woman didn't go into, but Lightning insisted that he check regardless. She looked carefully and instructed him where to go. After a few minutes, Hope sat back on his bed and held his phone up so that she could see him. "It's kind of hard to see you like this. I have another idea if you're up for it?" _

_Lightning became curious. "What did you have in mind?" _

_A few minutes later, Hope was lying down on his bed as there was a computer in front of him. He had already settled in for bed with a blanket over him in just his shorts. On the screen, he could see Lightning lying on her side in front of the screen on her bed. From there, he could see her better than when he was on his phone. "That's better. It's been a while since we talked like this. It would only be when either you or I would be gone for a while." _

_Lightning looked at him. "Yeah like sometimes when I would go on missions and you wanted to see if I was doing okay." _

_Hope smiled a little remembering those times. "Yeah." Her eyes drifted to the side which he noticed. She began to get lost in thought over what happened earlier. "What is it?" _

_Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned her attention back to him. "Nothing." _

_Hope arched his eyebrow. "Oh really? The look on your face says differently. What is it? What's on your mind?" _

_Lightning relaxed a little. "I was thinking about what happened earlier." _

_Hope became interested. "You seemed pretty upset." _

_Lightning's eyes drifted down. "I was thinking that it was an easy offer that you could have taken, but you didn't." _

_At first, Hope looked surprised, but then relaxed. "Why would I? I told her that I had you." _

_She arched her eyebrow as she looked curious. "Yeah. Did you already mention that you had a child?" _

_The thought did cross his mind during the incident in hopes that it would make the woman go away. "No, but I thought about it." _

_Lightning stared at him calmly. "I heard you say that you were happy with me." _

_Hope smiled to assure her. "And I meant every word of it." He sighed as he shook his head. "And some part of you still doesn't believe me does it? Looks like I'll have to say it every day until you believe me." _

_Her eyes drifted toward the side. "It's not that. I believe you." _

_Hope stared at her wondering. "Then can I ask if you're happy with me?" _

_Lightning nodded. "Yeah." _

_A smile appeared on his lips. "That's good to hear." His eyes traveled down as he was thinking. "In fact, I wish that you were here right now. Last night I…" Then he shook his head a little. "Never mind." _

_Lightning became curious as to what he was going to say. "What? What happened?" _

_He smiled at her. "Well I… I was tempted to call you last night, but I didn't because I thought you and Faith were sleeping so I didn't want to wake you." Lightning was surprised to hear him say that. She wondered if it would have been around the same time she was tempted to call him, but could it really be that big of a coincidence? Hope's eyes drifted to the side as he smiled a little. "I guess I'm so used to having you beside me that you were even in my dreams. We were lying together and we were sleeping like there was no one else there but us. I guess that sounds kind of cheesy right?" _

_She became anxious to ask the question that was on her mind. "Around what time last night?" _

_Hope took some time to think about it. He gave her an estimate which she was surprised with it. Hope noticed her reaction. "Light?" _

"_That was…" Lightning lifted her eyes to him. "…actually the same time I was going to call you last night."_

_Once she told him, he reacted with surprise. Were they both thinking the same thing? "Really?" _

_She gave a faint smile. "Yes. I couldn't sleep so I thought that maybe I could… I guess we were thinking the same thing." _

_Hope laughed a little. "I guess you missed me too." _

_Her eyes turned to the side. "I wouldn't say that much." _

_He laughed a little more. "I see. So would it matter if I came back weeks from now or at all?" _

_Lightning leaned against her pillow as she crossed her arms. "Of course it would. I would think that Faith would miss you if you were gone that long." _

_Hope leaned in closer to his computer. "And…" he tried to persuade her into continuing. _

_Lightning let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. "...And I would too." _

_Her answer had made him smile. Soon Hope became curious. "And how is Faith doing?" _

"_She's doing fine," Lightning answered him. _

"_Does she notice that I'm gone?" he asked interested. _

_Lightning looked serious. She felt it was silly for him to ask that. "Of course she does. She asked about you a few times where you were." _

_It made him happy to hear that. He smiled as he kept staring at her. "We should talk like this more often. I'm going to be here in New Palumpolum for a few more days. Would it be all right?" _

_She wrapped her arms around herself. "I guess if you miss me that much, you can call everyday if it helps." Afterwards a faint smile formed at her lips. _

_Hope closed her eyes as he smiled. "Right." Soon he returned to looking at her. "I guess that I will speak with you tomorrow. Another early morning to get through." _

_Lightning nodded. "Good night." _

"_Good night." He smiled at her once more. "I do love you." _

_Her lips curved into a smile. Inside, she was glad to hear that. "I know." She pressed a button on her computer to turn off her screen. She rested easy knowing that things were all right now and that he was still sticking loyally by her side. _

A grin escaped from Serah's lips after listening to the story so far. "Awe! That was really sweet." Hope let out a smile. His eyes traveled over to Lightning who just closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't want anyone awing over her. The situation back then was not an easy one to deal with either. Serah's happy look soon changed into a concerned one. Her eyes lowered. "Sorry that you both had to go through something like that. I can't believe that someone would do that either." She lifted her head and gave a small smile. "But at least you guys worked through it." Her eyes traveled over to Hope. "And you proved that you love my sister."

Hope smiled. "I hope so."

* * *

_Call Night Two_

"_I think that we should take the offer." _

_Confusion grew on Lightning's face as she stared forward. "What offer?" _

_On her screen, Hope smiled. "The offer to stay here. It would be free." _

_Lightning's eyes drifted to the side as she crossed her arms. Along with what he said had brought up the memory of what happened the night before. She didn't want to be reminded of it since it still made her a little upset. "We'll see." _

_Hope began to think back. "You and I have been here to the New Palumpolum before." _

_Lightning nodded, remembering what he was talking about. "Right… We were working on a mission together and we had to go there." _

_A smile crossed his lips as he continued thinking back. "Do you remember that little bakery that we went to?" _

_She leaned her head on her hand as she looked at him. "I think so."_

_His smile increased as his eyes lit up more. "You should. That's how I found out that someone has a sweet tooth." _

_Her eyes drifted to the side as she pouted slightly. "I do not." _

_Hope let out a chuckle. "Are you really going to keep denying this? I can bring up several incidents." Lightning frowned as she looked back at him. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she could probably already guess what he was going to bring up. When she didn't argue with him, he continued. "We were walking in the afternoon before we had to head back to Academia and it was before we got together. We just happened to find that little shop. I offered to buy anything you wanted, but you just crossed your arms and kept saying no right away and that we had to go." As he spoke, he imitated what she did that day by crossing his arms in front of him and repeating what she said. His head tilted from side to side as he looked up, thinking. Afterwards, he smiled at her. "I still picked up something anyway. I saw the way you were eyeing my sweets. Finally when I offered, you accepted. You almost ate everything I brought before I even had the chance to." At his last sentence, a smile seeped through her lips. She held back a laugh. It made Hope smiled as well. He continued the story. "Then you went back in there and you brought more. You ate all the sweets before we left and went back to get more. I thought that I would have to stop you from buying anymore." _

_She kept her smile on. "Those little cakes were expensive, but good." _

_Hope nodded. "I know. Do you remember before Faith was born?" _

_Lightning became curious as to why he brought that up. "What about it?" _

"_As time went on, I noticed a pattern of what foods you would eat when you were pregnant and when you wanted sweets. I actually had some personally delivered from that little bakery," he recalled. _

_She crossed her arms in front of her. "Right. I didn't know where those came from at first. You must've had to pull a lot of strings for that to happen." _

_Hope smiled. "It wasn't as hard as you think. Do you even remember the flowers that came with it or did you only see the sweets?" he asked interested. _

_Lightning's eyes drifted to the side. "I might… remember something like that." _

_Hope almost wanted to laugh. He could remember what happened that day. "I'm assuming not because when I came back home I found them lying on the counter not in water. They were almost dead." _

_Lightning shrugged. "Fine. I guess I did forget. Well it's not like I could eat them." _

_Hope breathed out. "It's the thought that counts. I thought that would make you smile as well. I guess I should stick to fake flowers. When I came back home, the sweets were gone. I wanted to try one at least for myself." _

"_Oh come on. You didn't give me that much," she told him. _

_Hope laughed a little. "I gave you two boxes! Most of them had those little cakes that you liked so much when you were here. I wasn't even gone that long. I came back in a few hours from when they were supposed to be delivered." _

_Lightning gave a dull stare. "At that point, I probably wouldn't have shared with you anyway." _

_A laugh escaped from his lips. He figured that she was right with how she was back then. "You probably have a point. I would have to hide a box just for myself." _

"_Which I would have found anyway," she said. _

_Hope shook his head as he smiled. "I don't doubt that for a second." He lifted her eyes to her. "Just admit it. You love sweets. Care to deny it any further?" _

_Lightning smirked. "Fine if you're going to keep going on and on about it." _

_A grin appeared on his lips. "Come on. You have to say that you love sweets." _

_Lightning continued to smirk. "It's not like you can make me say it." _

_He mirrored her smirk. "I'll remember that when I get back. I'm giving you the chance now." Lightning shook her head as she smiled. There wasn't any way he could make her admit it. Suddenly, surprise appeared on her face as she felt something on her back. When her eyes traveled over, she saw Faith stand up behind her and lean her head against her arm. She closed her eyes as she was still somewhat tired. Hope became curious as to what Lightning was looking at. "What is it?" Lightning moved back and placed Faith in front of the screen. Hope looked surprised, but then smiled. "Hey!" _

_Lightning lied down with Faith sitting in front of her. Faith rubbed her eyes as she started to wake up more. Lightning looked over at Faith. "Look who decided to wake up." _

_Hope smiled. "Hi Faith." _

_Faith became curious as she looked at the screen. Lightning poked her stomach. "Say hi." _

_Faith grabbed onto her feet in front of her. "Hi… dad…dy." _

_The smile on his lips increased. "Did you miss me?" Faith continued staring at him as she put her fingers in her mouth. He asked again wondering if he could get an answer. _

_Lightning tickled her stomach a little. "Either tell him or he'll just keep asking." _

_Finally Faith spoke. "No!" _

_Hope looked a little surprised, but then smiled playfully. "Really? You didn't miss me at all?" _

_A smile formed on Faith's lips. "No." _

"_Does no mean yes…?" Hope asked. A grin crossed over Faith's lips. She poked her finger on the screen a few times._

_Lightning looked at her. She decided to help her along. "Why don't you tell him what you said today?" _

_Hope became interested. "What did you say?" _

_Faith turned her attention to Lightning who smiled a little. "You were asking for him and you said…?" Still there was no response so Lightning helped her continue. "You said that you really miss…." _

_Faith kept her fingers in her mouth as she kept her eyes to her mother. "I m-m-miss my…daddy." _

_Hope smiled along with Lightning. Both of them were happy that she was able to say that. Hope leaned in toward his computer closer. "So what did you get to do?" Mostly awake, Faith continued to speak as best she could. As she was talking, Hope couldn't help but smile. Lightning watched as Faith spoke as well. A smile curved at her lips. As time had continued to pass, Faith began to get tired as she was talking and eventually fell asleep in front of Lightning who was she was lying on her side. She looked down at Faith. Faith was lying on her side turned toward Lightning as her head leaned a little against Lightning's chest. Lightning's hand caressed her back soothingly. "She tired herself out. Hmm… I should probably let her talk more so she can put herself to sleep." _

_Hope was lying on his stomach with his arms crossed in front of him. He gave a tired smile. "Yeah. It's amazing. She used to be smaller when she was baby, but now she's growing and getting taller." _

_Lightning stared down at Faith. "Yeah." _

_Hope closed his eyes for a few seconds. "I should go and let you guys get some sleep." _

"_All right." Then Lightning's eyes drifted down as a thought crossed her mind. _

_Hope noticed the change in her facial expression. "What?" _

_She lifted her eyes to him. "What?" _

_There was a curious look on his face. "Is there something on your mind?" _

_Slightly Lightning shook her head. "It's nothing. Good night."  
_

* * *

_Thank you for reading! I'll be back to update as soon as I can! _


	7. Call Nights 3-5

_**Author's Notes:** I really want to thank everyone who sent in a review. Your words were really kind and encouraging. I'm the one who should be grateful for everyone reading this. I have to admit that I always get nervous when updating... Anyway I hope you like this chapter. Still wanted to try something different.  
_

* * *

_Chapter 7: Call Nights 3-5  
_

_Call Night Three _

"_Do you ever regret what happened between us?" _

_Hope blinked surprised and confused as he stared at Lightning on his screen. "What do you mean?" _

_Her eyes drifted down. "I know I thought that before, but I never really asked." She lied back against her bed with her hand on her stomach. "I mean having Faith so soon." _

_His eyes traveled down as he was thinking. "Hmm…" Then he gave her a serious look. "No. I don't regret it. I'll admit that it was early and we haven't really talked about it, but I see it this way. If we didn't now, then we might not have Faith. Who knew what we would have had. I just think that it was meant to be." When she looked into his eyes, he seemed sincere. "What about you?" _

_Lightning snapped out of her thoughts. "What?" _

_Hope looked serious. At the same, he was curious as to what she thought. "Do you ever regret sometimes?" _

_Lightning thought about the words that Hope said. If it didn't happen when it did, then who knew if they would've ended up with Faith. It's hard to imagine not having her now. Slightly she shook her head. "No." _

"_What made you want to ask that?" Hope asked interested. _

"_Just wondering," Lightning replied. _

_Hope thought back to yesterday when they talked. He noticed that there was something on her mind before they split. "Is that what you wanted to ask me last night before you left?" _

_Her eyes drifted down. "Yeah…" she admitted. _

_Hope looked over toward the side. "There was something that I had been wondering too." _

_Lightning lifted her eyes curious. "What's that?" _

_Hope's eyes met with hers. "I was wondering if you would ever go back to using your name of Claire again." _

_Lightning was surprised that he brought that up. "How come you want to know about that?" _

_A smile curved at his lips. "I just think that it's a nice name." _

_Her eyes lowered. "I don't know. The only person who really called me that is Serah."_

"_It's just a thought I had, but I __would __actually…like to call you that at least once," he told her hopeful. _

_Lightning looked off to the side. She felt unsure about it. Maybe it was because no one had called her that in a while. Still it couldn't hurt to let him. "I guess that would be all right." _

_It made him glad to hear that. Soon another thought crossed his mind. "So I take it that Faith is asleep?" _

_Lightning's eyes traveled behind her to see Faith sleeping beside her. "Yeah. I doubt she'll wake up like she did last night." _

_A smirk formed on Hope's face as he remembered something from yesterday. "So? Ready to admit that I was right about you being addicted to sweets?" _

_Lightning crossed her arms as she frowned. "You're still on about that?" _

"_I'm not going to forget it," he assured her. _

_A sigh left from her lips. "You can try as much as you want, but you can't get me to admit anything no matter what you do." _

_Hope sighed as he closed his eyes. "Fine… I guess I can't anything out of you." Then, curiously, his eyes traveled away from his screen once he heard a noise. _

_Lightning wondered what it was as well. "What was that?" _

_Hope kept searching over. "I don't know. I'll check it out." Soon he disappeared out of sight of the screen. Things had turned quiet. _

_Lightning waited patiently, but then heard a loud thump again. "Hope?" There was no answer. She searched the screen. "Hope. Answer me." Suddenly she saw the screen shake and another loud noise as if something had dropped. There was also the sound of pain. Lightning looked anxious. She wondered if something was wrong. "Hope!" _

_Shortly after Hope plopped down on the bed in front of her as he smiled. "Were you really that worried about me?" _

_Confusion was written on her face. "What were you doing? What was all that noise?" _

_Nervously he smiled. "I just knocked something off of the bed on the ground. I forgot I put it there. Maybe I dropped something to scare you a little, but then I almost tripped on something else." _

_Lightning frowned. "So you tried to scare me?" _

"_Only because you said that you won't admit to anything so maybe I tried to get you to admit something. So you were worried about me?" he asked interested._

_Lightning crossed her arms. She was still a little upset that he tried to scare her. "No." _

_Hope smiled. "I heard how you sounded. I think you __actually __were ." Her eyes drifted to the side not ready to admit anything. He became curious. "What were you thinking?" _

_She kept her eyes away from him. "I thought that maybe someone broke into your room or something." _

"_Which means you were worried about me?" he replied. _

_Lightning frowned at him. "That wasn't funny." _

"_I was fine except for my foot that I hurt." As Hope spoke, his eyes traveled over toward his foot. The pain had faded away from it. _

_She gave him a serious look. "Serves you right." _

"_What started off as an accident became a little joke. I'm sorry." A small, hopeful smile appeared hoping that she would accept his apology. _

_A part of Lightning was still skeptical. "Yeah right. What if I did that to you?" _

_A smile crossed over his lips at her words. "I don't think you really can." _

_She arched her eyebrow to him, wondering why he would say that. "And why not?" _

"_Because you make sarcasms not really jokes," he answered. _

_She didn't completely understand why he would say that. "What?" _

"_You usually give me sarcastic remarks," Hope pointed out. _

"_I could pull jokes just as much as you could." _

_He smirked a little. "I would like to see you try." For a few seconds, Lightning turned silence. Her eyes lowered as she began to get lost in thought. It was interesting challenge, but she wasn't sure what she could really fool him with. He became curious. "Light?" _

_Finally she turned to him on her side as she relaxed. "You're probably right." _

_Hope blinked surprised. He never expected her to say he was right about that. A little suspicion grew. "Are you just saying that?" _

_Lightning gave him a sincere look. "No." _

_The answer made him feel uneasy. Not easily would she agree that he was right, but he would believe her for now. "All right then..." _

_She tilted her head on her hand. "Actually I was thinking about something you said earlier." _

_Interest grew within him. "What's that?" _

"_You asked me the other night if I would miss you if you were gone for weeks or forever. I guess I would. Not just Faith," she told him. _

_Hope smiled a little, wondering what brought that up, but nevertheless was glad to hear her say so. "That's good to know." _

Serah became surprised as Lightning turned silent. "Was that all? What about the part when Faith got the doll?" A smile appeared on Lightning's lips. Serah wasn't sure why, but Hope could tell that why she was smiling. He knew the next part of the story too well. It still must've been funny to her.

_Lightning kept staring at the screen. "I was surprised the night before you left." _

_Instantly Hope wondered why. "Why?" _

"_Because I thought that something else was going to happen," she replied, recalling back to a few nights ago before he left the next day. _

_Hope's eyes searched hers, but then traveled down, noticing that her fingers were fiddling with the strap of her tank top. As much as he tried not to read into it, his curiosity began to peak. It was hard to tear his eyes away. He glanced at her once, but his attention was still on her hand as he wondered. "Well it was just nice having you and Faith near me." _

_Lightning noticed that he seemed distracted. Her eyes drifted toward the side toward her shoulder and hand. "It was nice, but at the same time it was too bad." _

_Confusion appeared on his face. "How so?" _

_Her eyes lifted up to him. "Because I was thinking the same thing too, but you had to leave the next day. We didn't have a chance. Who knows what things would have been like?" _

_A faint smile crossed over Hope's lips. "But I'll be back in a few days and then we could pick up where we left off." _

_Lightning leaned her head on her head as she looked at him. "But that's the thing. I'm not sure if I can wait until you get back." _

_What she told him surprised him more. A thought crossed his mind of what she could mean, but he wasn't sure. "What are you proposing?" _

_More she began to twist her index finger in the thin strap on her shoulder. "I was thinking since you were feeling lonely and so was I, why don't we try something to help us both get over it?" At a loss of words, he blinked surprised. He never thought that he would hear her suggest something like that. She continued. "So what do you say?" _

_Hope was still skeptical about her suggestion and if she would carry through on it. "Are you serious about this?" _

_Lightning gave a slight shrug. "Yeah. Why not? But if you don't want to it's all right." Hope's eyes traveled toward the side. Truly he was at a loss for words. She could tell that he felt uneasy. "I could go first." She placed her computer on top of the dresser. _

_In silent, Hope's eyes lifted up beside her. The words held back in his throat. He thought about stopping her, but no part of him would move to try. Then a thought crossed his mind which made him surprised. "Wait? Isn't Faith with you?" _

"_I'll place her in her room, but then again…" A smirk crossed over her lips. The tip of her index finger stopped near her lips. "…I know how to stay quiet." Nervously, he swallowed deeply as his face began to heat up. From her end, she couldn't see his cheeks turning red. "This could be practice if you're ever gone away from a long time and we don't get to see each other." _

_Quietly, but nervously he nodded. Never had this been brought up nor would he guess that she would come up with the idea. "Right." _

_Soon she looked down and removed her blanket. Her hands had reached down and pulled her shorts away from her, completely leaving her underwear behind. She turned on her side and lifted her eyes to him. A smirk seeped through her lips as she saw him staring. She slid her hand along her side to her hip. "Having fun just staring at me like that?" _

_Hope snapped out of his trance. "Oh! Right! I…Wait…" _

_Lightning almost wanted to laugh at how he was getting flustered, but kept it to herself. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" _

_Nervously his body jumped a little. "Yes! I mean yes it's fine if you want to continue." _

_A smile of comfort crossed her lips. "Relax. It's all right you know. This is just between us got it? No one will know about it." _

_Hope smiled feeling a little at ease about it. He nodded. "You're right." _

_She reached over and pulled down both straps from arms until they were completely off. She turned and lied down on her back. She used her arm to cover over her chest so that he wouldn't see just yet. Lightly her fingers trailed along her stomach and moved further down until she stopped onto the fabric at her waist. "You ready?" _

_He smiled nervously as he leaned on his elbows. He continued watching as his mind traveled to what could happen. "If you're ready, I'm ready." _

_A smile curved at her lips, but then Lightning turned on her side still keeping herself covered. Her hand leaned against the keyboard of her computer. "Right. There was one more thing I forgot to do." _

_Hope looked curious, but kept his interested smile on. "What's that?" _

_A gentle smile formed on her face. "Good night Hope." Soon the expression on his face changed to surprised. Before he could say anything, she pressed a button to end the call and closed her computer. She returned her straps back to her shoulders and lied down on her side toward Faith. She laughed a little, but quietly enough not to wake Faith. The look on his face was priceless although she wondered if she had gone a little too far. The idea crossed her mind and at first, she wasn't sure if she was going to go along with it to fool him, but she thought it was a way she knew she could get to him. Maybe now she had proved him wrong when he said that she couldn't pull a joke off. A part of her wasn't sure if she could pull it off or if she would spoil it before it was over. There were times she wanted to laugh at the fact it was actually working. She wrapped her arm around Faith and proceeded to fall sleep. Her body against the mattress felt cooler somehow now that she left her shorts off. "It is kind of better sleeping like this," she thought. _

_On the other side, Hope tapped his computer a few times. "Light?" He couldn't get her back. He breathed out. He closed his eyes figuring that she left from him right away on purpose. As he lied back on his back, he stared up thinking that it was a little strange that she would suggest something like that, but he ended up falling for it anyway. "Wow! She tricked me and I actually fell for it. I thought it was a little strange at first," he thought to himself. "I should have known that she was up to something when she agreed with me without even arguing a little. I didn't think that she was that upset that I worried her before." It was a little hard to relax. He lifted the blanket as he looked further down it. It was going to be hard to calm himself down after that. He sighed and placed his hands behind his head. His eyes lifted up toward the ceiling. "Great. She just made it harder for me to go to sleep now," he thought to himself. He relaxed and closed his eyes. Eventually he fell asleep. _

Patiently, Serah waited for Lightning to finish, but she had remained silent. She blinked curious. "So…? What happened?"

Lightning looked toward the side thinking. It wasn't long before she decided that it was best to leave that part out. She returned her attention back to Serah. "Nothing much happened. He played a prank on me so I played one on him."

Serah placed her hands on her knees in front of her that she was sitting on as she smirked. "Really? Since when do you play tricks on anyone?"

Lightning nudged Hope with her elbow which he smiled. "He started it. I just couldn't let him get away with it. It was worth it. I got him good."

Hope sighed with his eyes closed. "Sure…"

Serah's eyes traveled between Lightning and Hope. "Whatever it was, it must've been good."

Lightning looked over at Hope as she smirked. "Yeah. It was really good." It was something that she wouldn't let him forget.

* * *

_Call Night Four_

_As Lightning was awake and lying in bed, she looked over at her computer screen. She thought it was strange. Now was the time that usually Hope would call, but she didn't see any sign of him. Patiently, she waited a few more minutes, but still there was no sign. She sighed as she closed her eyes. It didn't seem like he would come on. A little disappointed, she cut off her computer. As she lied with her eyes closed, she wondered what reasons could be holding him up until she fell asleep. _

* * *

_Call Night Five_

"_What happened to you last night? You weren't actually upset about what happened the other night were you?" _

_Hope grabbed onto his pillow as he lied against it. His lips curved into a smile. "No. It wasn't because of that." He closed his eyes as he gave a look of defeat. "You got me. I was fooled like you wanted. That was your attempt at a joke on me right because of what I pulled on you?" _

_Lightning's lips curved into a smile. "What can I say? You wanted to play one on me and I thought about letting it go, but then decided I didn't want to let you get away with it." _

_Hope tilted his head a little to the side as he let out a smile. "A little harsh wasn't it?" _

_She gave him a faint smirk as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Well…maybe a little, but you brought it on yourself." _

"_I brought it upon myself?" he quoted her, wondering a little what she meant. _

"_You said that I couldn't make a joke. I was going to let it go, but…" A smile seeped through her lips. "I guess I'll admit that it was kind of fun. The look on your face was worth it." _

_Hope gave faint smile. "I bet it was. I should have known." _

_An idea crossed Lightning's mind as she thought back. "Maybe I should try more of those on you more often." _

_He sighed. If she carried through on her words, then he had to wonder what he had created. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that." _

_She gave a small smirk as she crossed her arms. "Maybe you shouldn't. I hope you learned something out of this." _

"_Yes…" The look of defeat on his face had made her smile. Soon, Hope opened his eyes. "I'm sorry about last night. I meant to call, but I had been working all day and by the time I finally made it to my room I was exhausted. I was going to cut on my computer, but as soon as I lied on the bed, I passed out." _

"_They have you working harder?" she asked curious and a little concerned. _

"_Nothing I can't handle which…" His eyes lowered. "I kind of have some bad news..." _

_Lightning noticed the disappointed look on his face and wondered why. "What is it?" _

_Hope's eyes lifted back to her. "Well… It seems that I'll have to stay here in Palumpolum for a few more days. This is taking a lot longer than expected. My team will have to join me here so that we can work. Hopefully I'll be back before too long." _

_More she understood the situation. "All right." _

_The look of disappointment was still clear on Hope's face. He glanced toward the side thinking of what else he had to say before he returned his eyes back to her. "That also means that I'll be working late nights so I won't be able to talk to you like this while I'm here." _

"_So this will be our last night?" she asked to be clear. _

_Hope nodded. "At least until I let you know when I'll be back." _

_Her eyes drifted to the side. She had gotten used to speaking with him every night. "Hmm…" _

_He smiled a little. "So? Anything on your mind? You're not going to try and fool me again are you?" _

_A smile escaped from her lips. "No. Not this time."_

_-End- _

* * *

_Thank you for reading! I'll be back to update as soon as I can!_


	8. Surprise!

_**Author's Notes:** Sorry about updating so late! Things have been very, very busy. Thank you for sending in reviews and adding this to your favorites and alerts! Usually I give a heads up, but I neglected to mentioned that after this chapter will be one more chapter before this side story ends. This chapter will definitely be longer than the last one. _

_**Warning:** So with an answer to the last review, yes there will be certain scenes of a lemon kind in this chapter and the last one of the story. As usual, I'll use lines to put where the beginning and end of it will be just in case anyone wants to skip over it. I think this one is the most graphic I've gone with and probably the last one I'll do for a very long time. _

* * *

_Chapter 8: Surprise!:_

_After a few days had passed, the sun began to set over the city of Palumpolum. Hope headed toward the window near his bed. He gazed over the sight below him and out in the distance. A faint smile crossed over his lips. Things were over now so soon he could go home to see his family. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Once he hit call, he pressed it up to his ear. "Hello?" _

"_Hey," the voice responded on the other line. "Since you're calling I'm assuming that you're done with everything or either you're calling to tell me that you're stuck there for a few more days." _

_As the voice on the other line spoke, he sat down on the bed. A smile went across his lips. "Don't worry. It's good news. I'll be heading back to Academia tomorrow afternoon. Until then, I was wondering if we could speak as we did before." _

"_That won't be possible," the voice replied shortly after. _

_The news surprised Hope. "How come?" _

"_I'm not at home," the voice answered. _

_More, he wondered what was going on and if everything was okay. "Where are you?" _

"_Since you told me that you would be away for a little longer, I spoke with Serah. Since she had some free time, I decided to go down to New Bodhum and spend time with her." As she spoke, Lightning sat down on the edge of a bed in one of the bedrooms. _

_Hope relaxed as he smiled. "That's good to hear. Then maybe I could see you once on my phone." _

"_Not yet," she told him. _

_He was surprised and curious as to why. "Why not?" _

"_Just not yet. I rather you see me in person." She figured it was best to see what she was up to instead of giving a hint over the phone. _

_Hope was interested in what she was up to. "How come?" _

"_Just trust me." It was all she had left him with. _

_He closed his eyes, giving up for now. Whatever she was up to, he would trust that it was worth waiting for. "All right." _

"_You must be tired. We can talk tomorrow when you head back. We can meet you at home."_

_A smile crossed over his lips as an idea came to mind. "How about this? How about I go to New Bodhum instead?" _

_The suggestion surprised her. She didn't want him to have to take an extra trip. "You don't have to come here." _

"_It's all right. I know how much you want to spend time with your sister. I have a few days off now so going to the beach wouldn't be so bad." He wanted her to be happy and knew that staying with her sister would._

_Lightning's lips curved into a smile. "All right." _

_Over the phone, he noticed that she sounded a little happy. It made him happy as well. "All right. Then I'll see you tomorrow." _

_Afterwards they each hung up. Lightning placed her phone on the bed as there was still a smile on her face. She was surprised that he was going to come down to meet her, but most of all she was happy with what he was doing for her._

_Early the next morning, Hope was awake and walking around the city of Palumpolum. He still had a few hours before he could head back to Academia and instead of sleeping in, he decided to travel around the city that he hadn't been in a long time. He felt that he already slept enough the night before. The city didn't completely remind him of his old home on Cocoon before it fell. It was built more advanced, but not as much as Academia. Along the way, he spotted a toy store. It sparked the memory of what he told Faith. He remembered that he promised to get a new toy for her. While he still had a few hours to spend freely, this would be a good time to find one and he could surprise her with it. Once deciding, he stepped inside. Behind the counter, a short, stout, middle aged woman noticed him come in. Her lips curved up into a smile. "Hi! Can I help you find something today?" _

_Hope smiled back at her. "Hi! I was just looking for something." _

"_Anything in particular?" the woman asked in a cheerful voice. _

_Hope nodded. "Yes. Something for a two year old girl. She just turned two not too long enough and she's kind of getting tired of the toys she already has." _

_The woman nodded back as she smiled. She understood his situation. "I see. Well I can show you where we have toys that are safe for two years old." She led him toward the back of the store. As she pointed out the different things they had, something else had caught his eye. On the shelve he saw a rabbit like doll that almost came up to Faith's height. He wondered if that would be something that she would like. He had never given her a doll before. Taking a chance, he picked it up from the shelf. "I think I'll take this one." _

_The woman looked back at him. "All right." He followed her back to the counter and rung up the doll for him. Then an idea crossed her mind. Her eyes lifted up to him. "You know. I could wrap it up as a gift for your little girl. It could be a surprise for her." _

_In response he smiled. He thought it would be a good idea plus it could be added fun for Faith to rip the paper off. "Sure." She placed the doll in a box and gift wrapped it for him within minutes. After everything was settled, he left from the store. He didn't expect to find something for Faith as soon as he did, but was happy that he did. As he walked, he noticed something along the way. His eyes traveled over surprised. His feet stopped in front of a familiar place. It wasn't long before a smile crossed over his lips. He didn't realize right away that he was walking in the same neighborhood with the place that he talked about with Lightning a few nights before. He found the bakery where they had brought sweets before. That's when the idea crossed his mind. He could not only surprise Faith but Lightning with something as well. _

_Before he could walk in, he noticed something else out of the corner of his eye. Nearby, there was another shop with jewelry outside of it. Curious he went over and looked to see what was going on. The store didn't seem like the fancy stores that he was used to seeing, but it seemed more antique. Inside he searched around thinking that maybe he could come across something interesting. At the counter there was an older man standing behind it. On top of the counter he noticed a small compact with a gold chain attached. It had a dark blue orb in the center on the top with a few arches of sliver metal decoration over it. He noticed there was a button on the side. "Ah! I hardly ever see people looking at that one." _

_Hope returned his attention back to the object that caught his eye as he held onto it. "What is it?" _

_The man's lips curved into a smile. "You can put images inside of it and project it out almost like a photo album." _

_Hope was surprised to hear that. "I didn't think anyone has created something quite like this." _

_Even though the man smile, disappoint showed through his face. "I thought that people would be buying them up, but that wasn't the case... It seemed too complicated for them. This place is where unique things are made." _

_Hope looked over at the man curious. He was still interested in the object plus he thought he could figure out how it worked. "How does it work?" _

_The man explained it to him. After he heard it, Hope thought it was easy enough to figure out how to work it plus he knew who it could be a gift for. "Would you like to buy it?" _

_For a few seconds more, Hope thought about it. It could be fun to work on and it wasn't a bad price. He placed it on the counter. "Sure." As he stood at the counter, he noticed something else out of the corner of her eye. There was another necklace that was slightly moving. There was something different about it. His finger caused it to twist. As it twirled in a circle, the scenery inside of the square frame kept changing. He was surprised. He hadn't seen a necklace like that before. _

_The man noticed that something else had caught Hope's eye. A bit of excitement came to his face. "Ah! You found that one too. You really have an eye for unique things. It was something someone else created. When you turn it, it changes what you see. One minute you'll see a night sky then at the next turn you could see rain." _

_Hope was impressed by the invention. "Wow." He observed it more to see how it worked. Then he placed it on the counter thinking that it was interesting enough. "I'll take this one too." _

_The man gave a toothy grin. "Ah! That's great!" _

_After Hope brought the necklaces, he headed over to the bakery next door where he picked up a couple of boxes of sweets to bring home. _

_Hours later, Hope returned to Academia first to drop off his things that he brought with him. Afterwards he packed a few things to bring for the night in New Bodhum and took the next ship he could there. He was able to arrive later on that night. He walked across the beach to reach Serah's and Snow's house. Once he got there, he knocked on the front door. It was a little later in the night and he hoped that someone was still awake. He had let Lightning know around the time he would get there. Seconds later Serah answered it. She greeted him with a warm, welcoming smile. "Hi Hope!" _

_Hope greeted her with the same smile. "Hey Serah!" _

_Before he could walk in and speak with her further, Serah stood in the doorway, blocking the entrance and pointed further along the side of the house. "I think you might want to head further down." _

_He gave a curious look. "How come?" _

_All she left him with was a smile. "Just trust me." _

"_All right." He still wondered why, but listened and turned away from her. _

_Serah leaned against the doorway with her arms wrapped around herself. "Good night Hope. Glad you made it here safely." _

_Hope glanced back at her as he kept walking. The confusion still didn't leave him as to why he couldn't use the front door. "Good night Serah. Thank you." Soon she disappeared and he headed further down to the room attached to the house. There was a door that led to it. When he stepped inside, he became curious. The room was dark and seemed like no one was there. "Hello?" _

As everyone sat on the bed, Serah looked curious as to why Lightning and Hope had become quiet. Her eyes traveled between both of them. "So what happened next?" Lightning and Hope looked at each other. What happened next was clear on their minds, but it wasn't something to say out loud. Their minds traveled back to that moment in silence.

_Hope continued to search around as he walked further inside. He placed his bag down on the floor. Soon he saw a bathroom door open. Lightning stepped out of it as she leaned against the door with her arms crossed. "Hey." Once he saw her, a look of surprise appeared on his face. She seemed different. Her bangs hung off to one side of her eyes covering over it. Her hair that had hung over her shoulder had become straightened and longer. There was a long sleeved robe wrapped around her that stopped at the top of her legs. Lightning walked toward him, but then turned her eyes aside when she stopped in front of him. What was on her mind, she began to change it. Her eyes drifted to the side. "This is silly," she muttered. Retracting from her decision, she was about to head back to the bathroom, but then felt a hand grab hers. Slightly she turned back to Hope. _

_Hope stepped back as she stepped forward. He overheard what she said and wondered what she was up to. An encouraging smile curved his lips. "I'm sure that it's not. What were you trying to do?" _

_Lightning crossed her arms over her chest. "It was silly. It was just an idea that was put in my head." _

"_I'm sure that it's not," he tried to assure her. "Now what was it?" _

_Lightning lifted his eyes to him. "It was…" With what she had planned, she felt a little nervous at the pit of her stomach about saying it out loud. Her eyes drifted to the side. "It was supposed to be a surprise." _

_More he began to get eager as to what she was up to. "I want to know what it is. Surprise me." _

* * *

_xxx_

_For a few seconds, she stared at him. By the look he gave, she could tell that he wanted to know. It made her unsure if she wanted to take back what she had planned. This was something that she didn't usually do and a first attempt at trying. Finally coming to a decision, she then stepped back from him still facing him. Her eyes lowered while her fingers untied the straps from around her robe. Afterwards, she placed her hands on her hips. _

_Stunned he stared at her. Underneath he could see the black, laced bra and underwear that she had on. He was at a loss for words. Reacting on body alone, he went to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He slipped the robe off of her revealing completely what she was wearing. He took her hand in his and rotated her, which she followed, taking the full view of her in. He observed as much as he could. Feelings of desire began to grow inside of him more than the night before he left to go to New Palumpolum and more than the night they spoke on through screens. This time he could be with her in person. _

_Before she could ask what he was thinking, he placed his hands on her arms as he leaned in. He pressed his lips against hers. His body stood at a close distance from hers. Tonight would be a night just for them. His hand caressed along her back until it had reached the arch. His lips kissed from hers to along her cheek to the crook of her neck. He kneeled down as he placed a trail kisses along her chest and stomach. He teased as he kissed along the lining of her underwear at her waist. Her finger ran through his thick, silver hair. Soon after, he stood up and returned back to her lips._

_Minutes later, he stepped forward as she stepped back. Her body leaned back against the bed. Her eyes followed as he came over her with his hands against the mattress. His lips had met with hers again. His hands caressed along her body and grasped at the barriers covering over her chest. She breathed out as she closed her eyes. Things began to get heated between them. Her fingers reached up and unbuttoned his shirt. She removed it off of his broad shoulders. _

_Both of their bodies lifted off of the bed as she followed along with him. Hope stood behind her as he kissed her softly on her neck and shoulder. The straps of her bra slid down her arm by his fingers. The material brushed lightly against her skin. She removed her arms from through the straps. His hands caressed along her waist and moved further up toward her chest. Softly his fingers grasped over the soft material. He reached behind her and unhooked the back of her bra. Soon, it dropped down at her feet. Her arm reached up as her eyes drifted to a close and placed her hand on the back of his neck. Breath escaped from her lips as she could feel his fingers rub over the sensitive areas of her chest. Behind her, she could feel his hardness from inside of his pants pressed against her hips. More she could feel the heat from her body growing especially further down. She relaxed against him in bliss. While he continued kissing her skin softly and caressed her with one hand, he reached down and removed the rest of his clothing with the other. Soon she felt him pulling at her underwear. She shifted her legs letting them fall down to the ground. _

_Hope leaned against her which made her lean forward. Lightning crawled onto the bed. Before she could move further in, she felt as he placed his hands at her waist as a way of stopping her. Curiously she looked back at him. His stomach leaned against her back. He placed kisses against her upper back and between her shoulder blades. He used his knees to spread her legs further apart. Soon she felt it; the opening between her legs being filled by him. She breathed out as she closed her eyes. She could feel her body rock forth and back as he pressed in and out. His fingers traveled upwards toward her chest and caressed her. Again she could feel the heat inside of her growing. His fingers slid between her thighs and rubbed against her highly sensitive flesh. Heavily she breathed out. The pleasure inside of her grew stronger with every touch. The strength from her arms escaped from her, causing her upper body to lean toward the mattress. Her fingers clutched onto the covers tightly. The pleasure was overwhelming. No longer could she hold back her cries. Her body began to tense. Her legs made an attempt to close in, but it was no use. His knees were keeping them apart. Her body felt as if it was on fire. Her nails dug as deep as they could into the covers feeling as if she could rip them any second. The ecstasy was almost too much, but it felt so good at the same time. The sound of her voice and look of pleasure on her face was intoxicating. It made him want to keep going. He continued to move, pushing in as deep as he could. As much as she tried to control the sound of her voice, it was no use. Her cries continued to grow louder. She turned her head burying most of her face into the mattress. From there he could still hear the sounds. He noticed her lips move as if she was murmuring, but couldn't hear what she was saying. Around him, he could feel her walls wrapping around him tightly. A rush surged through her body. At that moment she released what her body had to give, but the feeling of pleasure stayed with her. _

_Minutes later, Lightning felt her body shift. Hope sat on the bed moving her onto his lap. Her body continued to move on his as she kept her eyes closed. Her mind was focused on keeping the feeling going. His hands reached up and caressed her chest. Underneath her chin, she then felt the tips of fingers brush against it and gently grab on. She turned her head back as much as she could. Lightly, the tips of her fingers brushed against his jaw line. "Hope…" she let out in a soft whisper. Her mind was still covered in a haze along with his. Hope's lips had met with hers. The two kissed until he started to shift again. _

_Her back leaned against the bed and he came over her on his hands and knees. It was easy for her to tell that he was continuing and was yet to finish. His lips met with hers again. His hands brushed against her hands and arms lying back on the bed near her head. He moved back inside of her and continued on as before. As he was going, an idea crossed Lightning's mind. A way she knew he could finish. She pressed her hands against his chest which he looked surprised. Soon he felt himself pushed down on his back on the bed. She sat at his waist placing him back inside of her. She moved back and forth against him with her hands against his chest. His fingers moved along with his lips to her chest. They caressed onto the hardened center of one as his tongue slid across the other. Again, inside of her, she felt a sense of pleasure building along with him. The feeling between them felt intense. Sound escaped from his lips along with hers. His hands reached over and grabbed onto her hips causing her hips to bounce a little. His hands slid up further toward her waist following along with the rhythm of her body. Through pure bliss, their lips had met for a few seconds. Again, he could feel her tighten around him which made him throw his head back onto his pillow and close his eyes. All around his body felt tense and trembling. She was starting to feel the same. As she let out one last cry, again her body had released around him. Shortly after, his body could no longer hold back as well. Loudly he let out a moan before his body could relax. He had experienced his pleasurable release._

_Everything had slowed down to a stop. Heavily, they both breathed out. Lightning moved from over him and let her body drop back on the bed laying the opposite way on the other end of the bed from him. She grabbed onto the blanket near her and covered herself from her chest down to the top of her legs. She trapped part of the blanket between her legs. Hope continued to lie down with his eyes closed. The only sound that filled the room now was the sound of heavy breathing. Lightning opened her eyes as she looked up toward the ceiling. Her fingers could feel the heat and sweat coming off of her skin. Her body had been pushed to the point of exhaustion during their time together, but she kept going. In the end she thought it was the best experience she had with him yet. _

_Minutes later, after being somewhat rested, Hope sat up. His body still felt hot and sweaty. He turned himself and lied down beside Lightning. He took some of the pillows he had with him. Both of them settled once everything was straightened. Their eyes had met as their breathing began to slow down a little. He placed a kiss on her shoulder and buried his face into her arm. A smile escaped from his lips. "That was…" He wasn't sure what word he could use to describe what happened. A lot of words came to mind, but what was the right one to say? _

"_What?" When the wait felt too long, she asked. _

_Hope lifted his head as he kept his smile on. "How were things for you?" He was interesting in getting her opinion first before he told her his. Maybe it would give him a better idea for choosing a word. _

_Her eyes searched his. Her hand caressed along his cheek. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. "Not bad. It was pretty good." Even though she told him that, another word better than 'good' was flashing in her mind. _

_He leaned against her as he closed his eyes. "Same here although I hope that you didn't wake anyone in the house." _

_Slightly she pushed him off as she gave a faint frown. "I wasn't that bad." _

_Hope let out a grin. "I beg to differ." He nuzzled his nose into her neck. "Are you telling me what you really think? Are you sure that it was just 'good'?" He wondered if there was another answer that she was holding back on. _

"_I guess you'll never know." She wasn't sure if she wanted to let him know yet. _

* * *

_He groaned as he buried himself further into the crook of her neck. "I guess I should go away more often." _

"_Maybe not often," she replied. _

_Upon hearing those words, he lifted his head as happiness dwelled through him. "Ah! So you do miss me while I'm gone." _

_Her eyes drifted away from him. "I wouldn't go that far." Hope let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. There was look of disappointment. He sat up which made her curious. "Where are you going?" _

_He grabbed onto his pillow as he gave a sad smile. "I'm going back down here. The only thing I'll have to hold is this pillow here." He was about to get up, but felt a hand grab onto his arm. _

_Lightning pulled him back down. "Don't be so dramatic. I wasn't serious." Soon she turned on her side away from him. "Fine. Maybe it was more than just good." He wrapped his arms around her relaxing with her comfortably. Then she noticed as he began to kiss on her shoulder and neck. His hand caressed along her side against the blanket. She turned her head a little toward him. "Aren't you tired?" _

_A small smile crossed over his lips. "Not so much. I'm surprised. Things are quiet around here." He began to look around. "Where did you put Faith anyway?" _

_She turned on her other side toward him. She rested her head on her arm as she looked serious. "You just now noticed your daughter was missing?" _

"_No. I just thought that you put her somewhere else to sleep. Even before I had the chance to ask, someone came in and distracted me with her surprise," he pointed out. "Where is Faith?" _

"_Serah volunteered to keep her for the night. She wanted to spend a little more time with her before we left for home in the morning." Her eyes lifted up to him. "Besides, it gave us a chance to be alone." _

_A question formed in his mind as he smiled. "What made you want to do a surprise like that anyway?" _

_Her mind thought back. "It just happened. Serah and I were walking around with Faith when she noticed this store that sells clothes like the ones I had tonight. She started joking with me saying that I should get something as a surprise. At first I thought it was silly, but then we went back passed it after we had lunch. Before I knew it, we were in the store and I was still listening to Serah while she's telling me what I should pick out." _

_Hope let out a smile. "Well I'm glad you did. This is one of the best surprises yet." _

"_It better be although..." She turned away from him as a little frown came across her lips. "I guess that's the only thing you noticed." _

_It surprised him that she seemed upset all of a sudden. "What do you mean?" When she didn't answer, his eyes drifted to the side, thinking. "The only thing I noticed?" It didn't take long to figure out what she meant. His eyes turned to her as he smiled. He leaned against her, placing his lips to her neck. He closed his eyes as he embraced her. "Your hair is very nice." His fingers brushed against the strands over her shoulder. "You should wear it like that more often." _

_A faint smirk appeared on her lips. "You really did notice or are you just saying that now?" _

"_I noticed, but it's as I said before. Before I had the chance to say anything, you surprised me. I guess you could say I was at a loss for words." His hand rubbed crossed her side over the blanket. "I glad that you did. It wasn't silly at all. In fact, you could surprise me like that again if you wanted. I wouldn't mind. Ever." As she lied facing away from him, a smile seeped through her lips. Maybe she could forgive him for not saying anything sooner plus he really did notice. It wasn't so bad what happened between them despite her slight feelings of embarrassment and nervousness at first. They both came out happy in the end and it was something worth trying again. While they lied in an air of silence, a thought crossed over Hope's mind. As much as it was comfortable lying with her, he figured that it was the best time to present her with something as well. "I guess that reminds me." _

_Curiously, Lightning looked back at him. "What?" _

_A small smile appeared. "You weren't the only one who brought a surprise. I brought something with me too." He slipped out of bed which she wondered what he was up to. He went into his bag he brought in with him. A few seconds later, he moved back in beside her. In front of her eyes, she saw a box that he held up in front of her. It was wrapped with a bow. _

_Her eyes traveled over to her to him with wonder. "What's this?" _

"_Just open it." He didn't to spoil anything. _

_Lightning listened and took the box from his hand. She unwrapped and opened it. On a golden chain, she held up a necklace with a square frame. Inside she was a field with a bright, blue sky with white clouds. "What's this?" _

_He smiled as he pointed to it. "I thought that this was neat." He began to twist the frame. "It shows you different sceneries like this might show you night." _

_When she watched, she saw a scene of night as a star fell from the sky in the distance. He twisted the frame to the other side. There it showed a nice sunset. She grabbed a little more onto the necklace. It was interesting enough with not knowing what it could show next. "I see." She managed to place hook the necklace behind her neck. Her eyes returned to him. "Thank you." _

_Hope leaned his head on his hand as he smiled at her. "I actually brought a gift for Faith as well." _

_At first Lightning was a little surprised, but then grew curious. "What did you get her?" _

"_You'll just have to wait and see like she will." _

* * *

xxx

_For now, Lightning decided to let it go and wait to see. After things had turned quiet, Hope leaned in and kissed her. Her eyes drifted to a close. His hands slid along the smooth skin of her legs toward her thighs opening them up more. As they kissed on and off, his body moved over her more. Her legs hung on back sides of his waist. Minutes later, she breathing out deeply as she tilted her head back. She kept her eyes closed. Once again she could feel as he entered inside of her. Her body rocked along with his as her hands grabbed onto his shoulders. They carried on as they were before. _

* * *

Serah waved her hand in front of Hope and Lightning to catch their attention. They snapped out of what they were thinking and looked over at Serah. "Hey! You guys just zoned out on me."

Hope and Lightning glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Serah. "Sorry about that," they replied.

Serah smiled and decided to move on. "It's okay. I remember when you guys left the next day."

_The next morning, the sun was shining in brightly through the windows. The cool breeze off of the ocean was flowing in through the open windows causing the curtains to flutter. Hope was lying asleep on his stomach asleep as the blanket covered him from the waist down. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The air around was warm with a touch of cool whenever breeze blew through. When he woke up fully, he realized that he was alone. He turned his head searching around as he wondered where Lightning went. He rested a little more before he got up. _

_Further into the afternoon, Serah and Lightning walked in the door of Serah's house. Serah was holding onto Faith as she turned to Lightning. "It was nice getting out before you guys have to leave. Are you sure you don't want to stay here for a few more days?" _

_Lightning reached over and took Faith from her arms. "It's all right. We'll be back to visit again soon." _

_Serah gave a small smile. She was a little disappointed that they were going because she had enjoyed the time she had spent with her sister, but knew they had to go home eventually. "I guess. It better be soon." _

_Lightning glanced at Faith before returning her attention to Serah. "She didn't give you any trouble last night did she?" _

_Slightly Serah shook her head. "No. She was pretty quiet. She slept the whole night." _

_Lightning turned her eyes over to Faith. Lightly she pressed her finger to Faith's nose, making her head tilt back a little. "I see. You stayed on your best behavior." Faith let out a laugh which caused Lightning and Serah to smile in return. _

_Another thought came to Serah's mind which she remembered. "So I saw when Hope came in last night. It must've been nice having him back." _

_Lightning looked down as Faith was grabbing onto her fingers. "Yeah." _

_An interested smile appeared on Serah. "So? What happened last night?" _

_Lightning hesitated for a second thinking of what she could say. She couldn't give her the real answer. Then she gave a slight shrug. Her eyes traveled from Serah to Faith, not letting their eyes meet just in case Serah became suspicious. "Nothing really. We just stayed up a little then went to sleep." _

_Serah thought they would have had a better reunion, but at least they got to see each other. "All right." Then Serah became curious. She noticed something hanging around Lightning's neck. "What's that?" _

_Lightning followed her eyes and looked down. "What? This?" She held the golden frame in the palm of her hand. "It was something that Hope gave me yesterday." She twisted the frame. It shows different scenes to Serah. The last one she seen was snow falling to the ground. It brought a smile to her face. "Wow!" _

_Lightning noticed what she was staring at. "Where is Snow anyway?" _

"_He ended up sleeping in." Serah thought about waking him up so that he could say goodbye to the others, but it was a struggle getting him to so she left it alone. Behind them, Hope opened the door to the house. He was glad that he found all three of them there. He stepped inside. Serah was the first to notice. "Hey Hope!" _

_Lightning turned around. Faith looked surprised, but it was soon replaced with an excited smile. She leaned over as her hands reached out. "Daddy!" _

_A grin crossed over his lips. He was a little surprised by how happy she was to see him, but happy nonetheless. He took Faith from Lightning's arms and held her up toward his shoulder. "Hey! Did you miss me?" She continued to smile as her fingers were in her mouth. He smiled and asked again. "Did you miss me?" _

_With her fingers in her mouth still, she spoke. "Yes..." _

"_Did you have fun staying here?" Hope's question got Faith to talk more to him. She tried to speak of the things she did. _

_As Serah watched, she couldn't help but smile. "Awe!" _

_A silent laugh left from Hope as he listened. Once Faith grew quiet, Hope looked over at Serah. He gave a grateful smile. "Thanks for looking after her." _

_Serah smiled and touched Faith's arm. "It was no trouble at all. It's not often that I get to see her." Soon she stepped back and her eyes traveled over to Lightning. Once she got a good look at her, a slight frown tugged at her lips. She went in front of Lightning and brushed the strands of her fingers, straightening them. "Awe sis! You messed up your hair with how I put it. You've been keeping up with how I had it before, but it's now messy. What did you do to it?" _

_Lightning's eyes traveled over to Hope who in return just smiled. It was a little funny watching her sister fret over her hair, plus the private joke they shared between them. She then turned her attention back to Serah. "I guess I slept kind of hard." _

_Serah looked surprised. "You must have or toss and turned something fierce." Again Lightning's eyes traveled over to Hope who just gave a shrug. There was nothing else he could say besides the truth which neither one of them would reveal. Finally after straighten her hair, Serah embraced her. "Have a safe trip back. Hope to see you soon." _

_In return, Lightning embraced her back. "We will."_

_Serah let go of her and looked over at Hope. Hope smiled and grabbed onto her hand. "It was nice to see you." Serah grinned which made him curious and surprised. "What?" _

_Serah looked over at Lightning as she thought back. "I remember when I first saw Hope after ten years when we were time traveling. He grabbed my hand, but then got so embarrassed after he realized he did." _

_Lightning stepped beside Serah with her arms crossed. "What? Never held a girl's hand before?" _

_Nervously, Hope smiled. "It was just... I was happy to see a familiar face after everyone had disappeared. I wasn't sure where everyone had gone at the time so it was nice to see Serah again." He looked down realizing that he was holding onto Serah's hand still. He began to get nervous again. "Sorry." _

_Serah looked over at Faith and bent a little toward her. "And I'm going to miss you too." _

_Hope's eyes traveled over to Faith. "Say goodbye to your Aunt Serah." Faith continued to stare at Serah unsure of what she wanted to do. Serah held out her arms waiting and hoping that she would come to her. Hope lifted her little arm and waved it. "Say bye bye." _

_A few seconds later, she leaned over and went into Serah's arms. "Bye." _

_Serah was glad to hear Faith response to her. It made her smile. "We should spend time more often. You don't have to be so shy around me." Faith leaned in and wrapped her arms as much as she could around Serah's neck. Serah was surprised that she did so. She wasn't used to Faith reacting that way toward her. In return, she wrapped her arms around Faith as much as she could. Soon she gave her back to Hope and said goodbye to the three. _

_Hope and Lightning walked off into the sand. Hope turned his attention to Faith. "When we get home I have a surprise for you." Curiously Faith looked at him._

_Also curious, Lightning looked over at Hope. "So what's this surprise that you have for Faith? You want to tell me now?" _

_Hope smiled. "You're still going to have to wait until we get there. Who knows? I might have another surprise for you as well," he hinted. Lightning wondered what he meant by that. He had already given her a gift, but did he really have something else? Her fingers latched onto the frame as she continued to wonder._

* * *

_Thank you for reading! I'll try to update more sooner. The next chapter will be the last one of the story! _


	9. A Gift That Matters Most

**_Author's Not_**_**es:** Well this is the last chapter of the story! I hope that you will like the ending! _

* * *

_Chapter 9: A Gift That Matters Most:_

_Later, Hope and Lightning returned back home a little tired. Faith was sleeping with her head against Hope's shoulder. They headed into the living room first. Once they did, Faith began to wake up. Lightning sat down on the couch and Hope sat Faith on the couch. A smile appeared on his face. "Faith woke up just in time. I'll be right back." Figuring now was the best time to surprise them, he walked away. They both looked up at him curiously and watched as he disappeared upstairs. When he came back, he was carrying a medium sized box wrapped in paper and a bow. He sat down on the floor and placed it between him and Faith. Faith blinked curious._

_Lightning wondered what he had for her. The box was as big as Faith. "What did you do?" _

_Hope smiled at her. "You'll see." He turned his attention to Faith. "Come on Faith. Open it." It took a little time, but Faith moved over and began pulling the bow. Hope helped her and Lightning joined in as well. Together they opened the box and Hope pulled out the rabbit doll. He held it up in front of Faith. "Look Faith. It's a doll." A few seconds later, Faith grabbed onto the doll. She held it for a little, but then unexpectedly placed it aside. It surprised Hope. It didn't seem like Faith liked his gift. It made him a little disappointed. Maybe he had picked wrong, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet. He took the doll and looked down at it. "I guess if you don't want it, I'll have to play with it." He started bouncing and tilting it as if it was walking. As Faith watched, she started to get interested. She leaned over. Hope grabbed onto her and placed her on the floor with him. They started playing with the doll together. It wasn't long before Faith started playing with it on her own. It made Hope smile. He knew that he could get her to like it. _

_Lightning sat on the couch watching them the whole time. "And the spoiling begins." _

_Hope sat down beside her, looking over at her. "I wouldn't really call it spoiling. I noticed that she was getting tired of her old toys. Maybe she's getting too old for them." _

_The two watched Faith until she began to tire herself out again. Once she was close to sleep, Hope carried her upstairs to her room to nap. After she was settled, he returned back downstairs. He sat next to Lightning on the couch. "It looks like you did quite a bit of shopping while you were there." _

_Hope smiled a little. "Don't forget that I told you I had another surprise for you as well." _

_While the gesture was nice, she felt that he didn't need to go through the trouble. "But Hope I don't need anything else." _

"_I know, but I thought that this might make you happy." Hope grabbed her hand and placed a wrapped box in her palm. He curled her fingers over the box._

_Her eyes lifted up to him a little surprised. "Another one?" All he left her with was a smile. Lightning opened the box and looked surprised. It was a compact with an orb and metal decorations wrapped around it attached to a golden chain. When her eyes traveled along the side of the compact, she saw a small button. "Is it like the one you gave me last night? What does it do?" _

"_It took some effort, but I got it to work." Hope pressed the button on the side. A small projection screen appeared. "I put in some pictures I thought you might like." Once Lightning saw it, a look of surprise came on her face. On the same screen, she saw a picture of her and Serah together smiling. She went through a few more pictures that were put in. In some of the pictures, she saw herself with Serah, some with Faith, and some of them with Hope. In all of them they seem happy. It reminded her of the good times they all shared. In the end, she was touched. After going through all of the pictures that were inside, she turned the projection off. Her eyes lifted to Hope. Hope searched her expression trying to read what she was thinking. It was hard to tell what she was feeling. There wasn't any reaction of happiness, sadness, or any other emotion when she looked at him. She had seemed neutral. "So? Do-?" _

_Before he could ask, Lightning leaned toward him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her head rested on his shoulder with her eyes closed. "Thank you," she spoke softly. Looking at all the pictures that he had put in so far, it made her happy that she had this life now after everything they've been through. _

_To Hope, it seemed that she was happier with the gift he gave her now than the one last night. With this one it had more meaning. They separated and looked at each other. "I'm still working on adding some things in. I was hoping to place some footage in too. I thought to get you this because if you're ever away and you're thinking of home, then you'll have this to remind you." _

_Lightning's fingers ran across the orb on the compact. "Thank you Hope. That was really thoughtful of you." Along with the memories, she wanted to keep her family close to her and for them to never separate like what happened in past. She was glad that everything worked out in the end. _

_Hope smiled as she continued to look down. "There is one more thing." Lightning looked over at him and noticed his smile. She wondered what he was up to this time. "After this, you have to agree that you're getting more spoiled than Faith is." He stood up and walked away. Lightning was a little surprised. How much was he actually going to give her? While he was in the kitchen, he leaned back as he grinned. "For this one, you have to close your eyes." _

"_Is this the last one?" she asked curiously. _

"_Yes, but you have to close your eyes," he reminded her again. _

_Lightning breathed out and listened to him. She closed her eyes and waited patiently for him to return. Nearby there was some noise in the background that seemed familiar, but she couldn't figure out exactly what it was. Hope stepped in as quietly as he could to her. Seconds later, Lightning felt something cold on her lap. She had no idea what it was. "Can I look now?" _

_Hope sat beside her. He was about to tell her yes, but then another idea crossed his mind. It sounded more fun. "Not yet." _

_Confusion became written on her face. "What is this?" _

_Hope opened the box. "You'll find out soon enough, but first you have to open your mouth." _

_To Lightning it sounded like a weird request. As much as she trusted him, she could help but be suspicious. "What are you up to?" _

_He grinned. "Just trust me. It won't be bad." _

_She breathed out uneasy. "Fine." He lifted something up to her lips. Soon she was met with a small, soft substance. The taste seemed familiar. When she opened her eyes, she saw the cake that she had taken a bite of in the box in her lap. She looked a little surprised. "These are-." _

_Hope nodded. "Yes. I found the little bakery again where we got all of those sweets before. I picked up a few boxes." _

_Lightning took the piece that she bit off before and ate the rest. Her eyes traveled over to him. "You really have been busy. When did you find time to do this?" _

"_Before I left Palumpolum. I woke up early and did a little shopping," he explained. _

"_You really are a spoiler. Don't make it a habit," she told him. _

_Hope smiled gently. "I think when it comes to you and Faith, I can make an exception." _

_Gently, Lightning smiled back at him. As he watched her, she seemed as if she was truly happy. It made him happy. Then his eyes lowered a little toward her lips. He pointed toward a spot on his lips to mirror where she had some icing. "You have a little something right there." _

_Her hand rose toward her lips in an attempt to get it off. "Where?" _

_Hope leaned in and kissed her lips. He could taste the little bit of frosting that was on the top of her lips. Once they separated, they both smiled. Afterwards they both leaned against the couch and began eating a few of the small cakes. Hope looked over at her. "The last few days weren't so bad." _

_Lightning gave a small smile. "Yeah."_

Even after the story was over, Serah continued smiling. "So do you still have it?" Lightning reached into the drawer and pulled out the compact she was talking about. She started showing her some of the pictures they had along with the new ones that were put in. Serah watched with amazement. "Wow! I remember some of these!" After she finished looking through them, she handed it back to Lightning who put it away. Serah let out a smile, reflecting over everything she had heard. "That was a nice story."

Hope smiled as well. "I guess over time Faith just grew attached to the doll. She loves playing with it."

"I see that." Then Serah looked over a little surprised. Faith stepped over to her with a look of sadness on her face. Serah was curious as to why. Faith leaned in and hugged her. The act surprised Serah. She looked over at the others with wonder.

Hope gave a small smile. He was glad that Faith was coming around. Lightning relaxed. "That's sometimes her way of apologizing," she explained. Serah smiled a little and embraced Faith back. Afterwards Faith turned back to Lightning. She placed her hand on Faith's shoulder. "Are you saying sorry now?" Faith nodded a few times. Lightning gave a gentle smile. Faith went over and hugged her. She leaned her head against her stomach as she closed her eyes. Lightning rubbed her back comforting. "Isn't there someone else you're forgetting?"

Faith lifted her head to look up at Lightning. Then her eyes traveled over to Hope who gave a disappointed smile. "You didn't forget about me did you?" Faith went over and curled up next to him. He grinned and blew on her stomach which caused her to laugh. "Do I get a sorry too?"

Through her laughter, Faith managed to speak. "Yes!"

He placed his hands on her arms. "Did you learn your lesson this time? No hitting anyone?" Faith nodded a few times. Hope gave his eyebrow a slight arch. "Really?" he asked to be sure.

Faith giggled. "Yes…!" Hope grinned along with her. Faith lifted her eyes to him and smiled.

Then everyone heard a noise from downstairs. Serah looked back. "It sounds like the others might be awake." She stood up from the bed. "I'll go check to see if Snow is awake." She headed toward the door and walked out of it.

Hope looked toward the door. "I guess if everyone's awake now, then they might want breakfast or something."

Lightning frowned. "Well I'm not making anything."

Hope closed his eyes as he relaxed. "I'm not really in the mood to make anything either. Maybe we'll end up going out or something."

Lightning breathed out a little as she closed her eyes. She didn't feel like going out much either, but it was better than cooking for a lot of people."I guess better than nothing." She was about to get up, but then she felt something grab her hand. Her eyes traveled over to see Hope lying across the bed catching her before she got up. "What?"

He let out a smile. "I thought it was good to remember what we had been through. It just reminds me more about how happy I am that we are getting married. I wouldn't change my mind because I know that I chose right." He lifted his eyes to her. "Hopefully there will be more good moments to come."

A smile appeared on her lips. She grabbed on more to his hand. "I'm sure there will be." Hearing her say that made him smile more. "Let's go before they decide to eat everything out of our fridge."

Hope nodded. "All right." He was about to get up along with her, but then felt something on his back. He looked back surprised to see Faith on his back with a smile. "Hey! What are you up to?" She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. It caused a suspicious grin to come to Hope. "You're not trying to get me again are you?"

Lightning smiled a little. An idea came to mind. "Well if she is then she's going to need some help." She went over to where Faith was and leaned against his back.

Hope fell and lied against the bed on his back. "Are you both teaming up against me again?"

Lightning looked over at Faith. "Faith? Are we?"

Faith grinned as she closed her eyes. "Yes!"

Lightning's eyes traveled to Hope. "I guess we are."

Hope grinned a little silently. "That's not fair."

Lightning let a faint smile appear on her lips. "Then get Faith to come to your side."

Hope smiled at her. "Why can't I get you to?"

She sat up and placed her hand on her hip as she sat over him. "This is for pulling me off of the bed earlier."

Hope laughed a little, silently. Soon he opened his eyes and saw the two smiling faces above him. He hoped to see that sight more often. It made him happy. "You two... You two really mean a lot to me." The smile never left from their faces. At that moment, he felt he should say what was on his mind. Then he lifted up making both of them fall on the bed. He caught onto Faith before she fell and carefully placed her on the bed. He leaned over Lightning before she had a chance to sit up. A smile crossed over his lips. "Looks like I got you before you got me. So much for you helping Faith."

Lightning looked up at him. "I can get out of this you know right?"

Gentle and sincerely he stared into her eyes. "I love you Light."

For a moment she stared up into his eyes. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was sincere. "I love you too."

It brought a bigger smile to his face. He leaned in and kissed her. Faith crawled over nearby them. With wonder, she stared at them. She used her little index finger to poke Hope's cheek. Once he felt the few pokes she gave, his eyes traveled over and smiled. "Yes Faith. I love you too." He tickled her stomach with his fingers which made her giggle. "Now do you want to help me instead of your mom?" Faith responded with a grin.

Lightning looked over at Faith. "I see. Changing sides on me? I could switch this on you too you know."

Hope let out a small, mischievous smile. "That's sounds like an idea." Soon they started playing around and laughing. At that moment, the three of them were happy just being together.

* * *

_The end! Thank you for reading! I hope that you enjoyed the story!  
_


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